Podcasts about power award

Jim Acosta is an award-winning broadcast journalist, with 25 years of experience in network television news, at CNN and CBS News. Perhaps best-known for his time as the Chief White House Correspondent for CNN, he has covered six straight presidential elections at the network level. He's also as an anchor and reporter covering some of the biggest news stories of the last 30 years, including Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War and the aftermath of 9/11. In 2019, his New York Times bestselling book, “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America” was published. That same year his work was recognized by the New York Press Club with its “Truth to Power” Award. Jim hosts a podcast on Substack, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Jim shares his keen insights on a variety if subjects including Trump 2.0, Musk and DOGE, the challenging road ahead for Democrats, and the administration's attacks on the media. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

HKS Senior Lecturer Linda Bilmes, an expert on public finance who has studied post-9/11 war costs for the past 20 years, says their staggering $5 trillion cost was enabled by what she calls “The Ghost Budget.” Using an unprecedented combination of borrowing, accounting tricks, and outsourcing, presidential administrations, Congress, and the Pentagon were able to circumvent traditional military budget processes in a way that kept war costs out of the public debate and resulted in trillions being spent with minimal oversight. The result: corporations and wealthy investors raking in huge profits, massive waste and fraud, and—combined with the Bush and Trump tax cuts—a shifting of the burden of the costs of war away from the wealthy and onto middle- and lower-income people and future generations. Of course by any metric, the United States-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were costly. Human life? At least 430,000 Iraqis, Afghans, and Pakistani civilians dead, along with more than 7,000 U.S. military personnel and thousands of civilian contractors. Democratic progress? Afghanistan is once again an authoritarian theocracy under the Taliban, and instead of transforming Iraq and the region, the U.S. invasion and occupation undermined popular sentiment toward democracy, unleashed sectarian violence, and strengthened autocratic regimes. But the budgetary problems are something we can address now, Bilmes says, with congressional reforms and planning prudently for the long-term costs of the wars, including caring for veterans. “The Ghost Budget” is also the title of Bilmes' next book, which will be published next year.Linda Bilmes' Policy RecommendationsCreate a veterans trust fund with an oversight board to pay for the long-term costs of caring for military personnel who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, costs which will not peak for as much as 50 years.Amend existing laws to automatically cover Iraq and Afghanistan veterans for toxic exposure to burn pits.Pass legislation requiring a set aside of a certain amount of funding long-term veterans care for every dollar appropriated for war spending.Restrict the ability of the White House and Congress to use the emergency and OCO (Overseas Contingency Operations) funding mechanisms to spend money on conflicts and to move war spending back into the main defense budget process.Address budgetary dysfunction in Congress by strengthening and empowering the House and Senate budget committees and streamlining their complicated and confusing budget subcommittee structures. Episode Contributors:Linda J. Bilmes, the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, is a leading expert on budgetary and public financial issues. Her research focuses on budgeting and public administration in the public, private and non-profit sectors. She is interested in how resources are allocated, particularly defense budgets, costs of war, veterans, sub-national budgeting and public lands. She is a full-time Harvard faculty member, teaching budgeting, cost accounting and public finance, and teaching workshops for newly-elected Mayors and Members of Congress. Since 2005, she has led the Greater Boston Applied Field Lab, an advanced academic program in which teams of student volunteers assist local communities in public finance and operations. She also leads field projects for the Bloomberg Cities program. She served as the Assistant Secretary and CFO of the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Bill Clinton.  She currently serves as the sole United States member of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), and as Vice-chair of Economists for Peace and Security. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. She was a member of the National Parks Second Century Commission and served on the U.S. National Parks Service Advisory Board for eight years. She has testified to Congress on numerous occasions and has authored or co-authored numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller “The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict” (with Joseph E. Stiglitz)  and “The People Factor: Strengthening America by Investing in Public Service” (with W. Scott Gould). She was also featured in the Academy-award nominated documentary "No End in Sight," and was the recipient of the 2008 Speaking Truth to Power Award from the American Friends Service Committee. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, Bilmes earned a BA and an MBA from Harvard University and a PhD from Oxford University.Ralph Ranalli of the HKS Office of Communications and Public Affairs is the host, producer, and editor of HKS PolicyCast. A former journalist, public television producer, and entrepreneur, he holds an AB in Political Science from UCLA and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University.Design and graphics support for PolicyCast is provided by Lydia Rosenberg, Delane Meadows and the OCPA Design Team. Social media promotion and support is provided by Natalie Montaner and the OCPA Digital Team. Editorial support is provided by the OCPA Editorial Team: Nora Delaney, Robert O'Neill, and James Smith.

EPISODE 1719: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Maria Ressa, 2021 Nobel laureate and author of HOW TO STAND UP TO A DICTATOR, about courage, honesty, bravery and why we must all fight for our future A journalist in Asia for more than 37 years, Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, the top digital only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. As Rappler's CEO and president, Maria has endured constant political harassment and arrests by the Duterte government, forced to post bail ten times to stay free. Rappler's battle for truth and democracy is the subject of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival documentary, A Thousand Cuts. In October 2021, Maria was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace." For her courage and work on disinformation and 'fake news,' Maria was named one of Time Magazine's 2018 Person of the Year, was among its 100 Most Influential People of 2019, and has also been named one of Time's Most Influential Women of the Century. She was also part of the BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 and Prospect magazine's world's top 50 thinkers. In 2020, she received the Journalist of the Year award, the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award, the Most Resilient Journalist Award, the Tucholsky Prize, the Truth to Power Award, and the Four Freedoms Award. In 2021, UNESCO awarded her the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Among many awards for her principled stance, she received the prestigious Golden Pen of Freedom Award from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, the Knight International Journalism Award from the International Center for Journalists, the Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Shorenstein Journalism Award from Stanford University, the Columbia Journalism Award, the Free Media Pioneer Award from the International Press Institute, and the Sergei Magnitsky Award for Investigative Journalism. Maria wrote Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of al-Qaeda's Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia and From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism, and How to Stand up to a Dictator. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Great Girlfriends, get ready to GROW! This week we are sitting at the feet of 33 year Wall Street veteran Carla Harris, to grab all of the breadcrumbs she can offer about LIFE (because why not learn anything and everything from Carla?

Dr. Adam Katchmarchi (Ph.D.) is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Health, and Sport Sciences (KHSS) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Adam is also Executive Director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. Adam completed his Ph.D. in Coaching and Teaching Studies with a cognate specialization in Sport Management from West Virginia University. He received his M.S. in Sport Management from IUP and completed his B.S.Ed. in Health and Physical Education with a minor in Aquatics from Slippery Rock University. Adam carries a very active research agenda all surrounding his passion for aquatics. His research interests focus on aquatic education, swimming and water safety, drowning prevention education, lifeguard training, and sport facility risk management. Adam holds provider, instructor, and trainer certifications from multiple safety and aquatic organizations and is a licensed teacher in the state of Pennsylvania for grades K-12 in Health and Physical Education. He received a National Swimming Pool Foundation Fellowship Award in 2014 and has been recognized twice by Aquatic International as a Power Award recipient, first in 2012 as a “Next Generation Leader in the Field of Aquatics” and again in 2017 as one of the “Most Influential People in the Aquatic Industry.” He has also received a letter of commendation from the National Water Safety Congress in 2011. Most recently, Katchmarchi received a Recent Alumni Award from Slippery Rock University in 2019. Adam is a steering committee member for the U.S. National Water Safety Action Plan, serves as an organizational representative to Water Safety USA and the Aquatics Coalition, represents NDPA in the planning for National Water Safety Month, and serves on numerous industry committees and councils. Nicole Hughes Los Angeles, California, USA After 3 year old Levi Hughes drowned in June 2018 during a non-swim time, his family founded Levi's Legacy, creating Water Guardians tags to help raise awareness about this silent killer. Levi's mom also hopes to encourage others to live intentionally, even when in the midst of tragedy https://ndpa.org/layers-of-protection/ https://ndpa.org/vacation-checklists/ https://www.levislegacy.com/ https://www.infantswim.com/lessons/isr-lessons.html _______________________________________________________ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a JOWMA Member!⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.jowma.org  ⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.instagram.com/JOWMA_org  ⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Twitter!⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.twitter.com/JOWMA_med  ⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Facebook! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/JOWMAorg/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stay up-to-date with JOWMA news! Sign up for the JOWMA newsletter! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://jowma.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9b4e9beb287874f9dc7f80289&id=ea3ef44644&mc_cid=dfb442d2a7&mc_eid=e9eee6e41e

Are you ready to harness the transformative power of courage in your leadership journey? Join me as I dive deep into this pivotal topic with leadership guru, Cindy Solomon, who has spent decades researching and teaching the concept of courage. Together, we unravel the essence of courage, debunking the myth that it's the absence of fear and instead embracing it as a skill that can be learned, honed, and applied in any leadership scenario.Our enlightening conversation meanders through the multifaceted landscape of courage – from everyday bravery to moral and creative courage. Cindy and I share insights on how these various dimensions of courage can shape us into better decision-makers, emphasizing the need to acknowledge fear and yet take decisive action. We debate over the philosophy that every small act of courage, no matter how inconsequential it may seem, contributes to our overall growth as leaders.Wrapping up our discussion, Cindy imparts invaluable advice on how to nurture your courageous leadership skills. She shares pragmatic tips on breaking down this abstract concept into smaller, achievable elements, and setting tangible goals. Cindy underscores the importance of adequate preparation, leaving you, our listeners, with a resounding message - courage is a skill within your grasp, ready to be refined. So plug in those earphones and get ready for an episode that's sure to leave you inspired and poised to lead with courage.Cindy Solomon is one of the most sought-after leadership and CX experts in the world. Her extensive global experience includes work with 26 J.D. Power Award winners; 16 Best Places to Work; and industry leaders such as Google, Alaska Airlines, UPS, Oracle, Wells Fargo, Dow, the ABA, The Gates Foundation, and over 400 others seeking to build courageous leadership at scale.As Founder and CEO of The Courageous Leadership Institute, Cindy works with her global team of facilitators to serve as the catalyst for organizations and individuals who want to cultivate greater professional courage, leadership skills, and performance.Cindy's accessible and hilarious Courageous Leadership programs are the fast track for organizations who wish to leverage their leadership potential to manifest customer and employee engagement through any disruption or challenge.Cindy's awards and accolades include the 2023 Top 30 Global Leadership Guru, Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership for 2023 by leadersHum, Fast Company's Fast 100, Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies, and more. Cindy's TED Talks have been viewed by over 1.9 million people and her best-selling books, The Courage Challenge Workbook and The Rules of Woo, are available on Amazon.Support the showThanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please support us on Patreon. For more leadership tools, check out the free workbooks at KylaCofer.com/freestuff. Book Kyla to speak at your event here, or to connect further, reach out to Kyla on LinkedIn and Instagram.All transcripts are created with Descript, an amazing transcript creation and editing tool. Check it out for yourself!Leadership School Production:Produced by Kyla CoferEdited by Neel Panji @ PodLeaF ProductionsAssistant Production Alaina Hulette

CCH is an avid art collector. A new exhibit featuring pieces from CCH's collection Diaspora Stories: Selections from the CCH Pounder Collection opened in Chicago on March 18 at The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center and runs through July 16, 2023.  The exhibition which was curated especially for the DuSable Museum contains 24 works of art by worldrenowned artists including Kehinde Wiley, Patricia Renee Thomas, Reginald Jackson, Robert Pruitt, Greg Breda, Ebony G. Patterson, and Mickalene Thomas, among others. Each item was curated and personally selected in collaboration with the DuSable and Ms. Pounder from her extensive collection specifically for “Diaspora Stories: Selections from the CCH Pounder Collection.”  Bio: Award winning actress CCH Pounder can currently be seen as “Mo'at” in James Cameron's AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER. Pounder portrayed “Dr. Loretta Wade” on the CBS series, NCIS: NEW ORLEANS for seven seasons and other notable projects include the television shows THE GOOD FIGHT, WAREHOUSE 13, SONS OF ANARCHY, REVENGE, BROTHERS, LAW & ORDER: SVU and HBO's THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY, which garnered Pounder her fourth Emmy® nomination. For seven years, Pounder portrayed "Claudette Wyms" on the critically acclaimed FX series, THE SHIELD, which earned her many accolades including an Emmy® nomination, the MIB Prism Award," two Golden Satellite Awards and the “Genii Excellence in TV Award.” Other honors for Pounder include an Emmy® nomination for her role as Dr. Angela Hicks on the NBC series ER and an Emmy® nomination for her role in FOX's The X-FILES.  In addition, she received a Grammy® Award nomination for "Best Spoken Word Album" for GROW OLD ALONG WITH ME, THE BEST IS YET TO BE and won an AUDIE, the Audio Publishers Association's top honor, for WOMEN IN THE MATERIAL WORLD. Film credits include HOME AGAIN, RAIN, PRIZZI'S HONOR, POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE, ROBOCOP 3, SLIVER, TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT, FACE/OFF, END OF DAYS, MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES, ORPHAN, AVATAR, GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS and her breakout role in BAGDAD CAFÉ.  A graduate of Ithaca College, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the school, was their 2010 Commencement Speaker and in 2021, she received Ithaca College Alumni Association's Lifetime Achievement Award.  Pounder serves on the Board of the African Millennium Foundation and was a founding member of Artists for a New South Africa. An advocate of the arts, she is active in the Creative Coalition and recent accolades for Pounder include the Visionary Leadership Award in Performing Arts from the Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD) in San Francisco, the 2015 Carney Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Chase Brexton Health Care in Baltimore, 2015 Honoree at the Grand Performances Gala in Los Angeles, the 2016 SweetArts Performing Arts honoree from the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, the National Urban League's 2017 Women of Power Award and the 2018 Bob Marley Award from AFUWI (American Foundation for the University of the West Indies).  In addition to her prolific acting career and advocacy, Pounder has been extensively involved with the arts as a patron, collector, gallery owner and museum founder. Originally from Georgetown, Guyana, Pounder's collection consists of Caribbean and African artists and artists of the African Diaspora. Her collection is heavily concentrated in the area of Contemporary Art but also includes traditional African sculptures. In 1992, Pounder and her husband, the late Boubacar Koné, founded and built the Musée Boribana, the first privately owned contemporary museum in Dakar Senegal, which they gifted to that nation in 2014. Pounder's personal collection contains over 500 works of art, many of which she has loaned to Xavier University of Louisiana for a series of exhibitions and some which were on exhibit at Somerset House in England, Kent State Museum, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, MI and The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center in Chicago. 

The boys are back in their sexiest Middle Earth attire as they take one last leisurely stroll through the world of Tolkien with our series finale, The Rings of Power Award Show! We'll find out who gets the hardware after the first 8 episodes, and even make a few predictions for season 2! Join the Rancid Tacos for our 98th published edition, and find out just who the LOW MEN really are! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rancidtacos/support

Great Girlfriends, get ready to GROW! This week we are sitting at the feet of 33 year Wall Street veteran Carla Harris, to grab all of the breadcrumbs she can offer about LIFE (because why not learn anything and everything from Carla?

Dr. Cecilia A. Conrad, Ph.D. (https://www.macfound.org/about/people/cecilia-a-conrad) is CEO of Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (where she also serves as a Senior Advisor) which leverages investments in solutions to the world's biggest problems — from racial and gender equity to climate change. Dr. Conrad was formerly a Managing Director at the Foundation, where she led the MacArthur Fellows program and steered the cross-Foundation team that created MacArthur's 100&Change—an athematic, open call competition that periodically makes a single $100 million grant to help solve a critical problem of our time. She continues to manage the 100&Change competition. Before joining the Foundation in January 2013, Dr. Conrad had a distinguished career as both a professor and an administrator at Pomona College in Claremont, CA. She held the Stedman Sumner Chair in Economics and is currently a Professor of Economics, Emerita. She served as Associate Dean of the College (2004-2007), as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College (2009-2012), and as Acting President (Fall 2012). From 2007-2009, she was interim Vice President and Dean of the Faculty at Scripps College. As Associate Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Pomona, Dr. Conrad championed the College's summer undergraduate research program and expanded it to the arts and humanities, led conversations regarding the value and assessment of a liberal arts college education, nurtured collaborations between the arts and the sciences, and worked with academic departments to improve the campus climate for diversity. As a member of the faculty, Dr. Conrad contributed to the curriculum of several interdisciplinary programs and, in 2002, was recognized as California's Carnegie Professor of the Year, a prestigious national award that recognizes faculty members for their achievement as undergraduate professors. Dr. Conrad's academic research focuses on the effects of race and gender on economic status. Her work has appeared in both academic journals and nonacademic publications including The American Prospect and Black Enterprise. Before joining the faculty at Pomona College, Dr. Conrad served on the faculties of Barnard College and Duke University. She was also an economist at the Federal Trade Commission and a visiting scholar at The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Dr. Conrad is a member of the board of trustees of Bryn Mawr College, The Poetry Foundation, the National Academy of Social Insurance, IES Study Abroad, and the African Center for Economic Transformation. She is a member of the TIAA Board of Governors and of the 2021-2023 Generosity Commission. Dr. Conrad received the National Urban League's Women of Power Award in 2008 and the National Economic Association's Samuel Z. Westerfield award in 2018. She has honorary doctorates from Claremont Graduate University and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Dr. Conrad received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and her Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University. 

Dr. Nanette Gartrell and Dr. Dee Mosbacher have been pioneers in the struggle for LGBTQIA+ civil rights for over forty years, contributing essential research, political action, and groundbreaking documentaries on gay and lesbian experiences. On today's episode, I'm honored to sit down with these personal heroes for a conversation about their lives, their activism, and their love. Nanette Gartrell, M.D., is a Visiting Distinguished Scholar at the Williams Institute and holds a Guest Appointment at the University of Amsterdam. Previously on the faculties at Harvard and UCSF medical schools, she is the principal investigator of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS), which since the 1980s has been following a cohort of planned lesbian families with children conceived through donor insemination. She has published extensively on this topic, including in the New England Journal of Medicine. Her investigations provide information to specialists in healthcare, family services, education, and public policy on matters pertaining to sexual minority parent families. Dr. Gartrell graduated from Stanford University (B.A.), University of California (M.D.), and completed a psychiatry residency and fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Dee Mosbacher, M.D., Ph.D., is a psychiatrist and documentary filmmaker. She was a producer/director of the Academy Award-nominated “Straight from the Heart” and eight other award-winning documentaries. As a public sector psychiatrist, Dr. Mosbacher specialized in the treatment of the severely mentally ill, including many who were homeless. Dr. Mosbacher served as San Mateo County's Medical Director for Mental Health, on the board of California Pacific Medical Center, and on the faculty at UCSF. She has received many awards, including a NOW Women of Power Award and a John E. Fryer Award from the American Psychiatric Association.

What you'll learn in this podcast episode With increasing demands from institutional investors, employees, consumers, and shareholders around ESG priorities, how are company boards assuring that they are shaping business strategy to be responsive to these expectations? In this episode of the Principled Podcast, Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames, partner at Tapestry Networks, explores the role of boards in bringing a strategic mindset to advancing ESG issues with Virginia Addicott, former president and CEO of FedEx Custom Critical and board member of both CDW Corporation and Element Fleet Management. Listen in as the two discuss how the board's own diversity can humanize the elements of creating sustainable corporate cultures and creating meaningful organizational change.   Featured Guest: Virginia Addicott Virginia Addicott recently retired as president and CEO of FedEx Custom Critical®, a leading North American expedited freight carrier located in Green, Ohio. Virginia joined FedEx Custom Critical in 1986 and quickly worked her way up the ranks, holding director positions in various departments where she placed a strong focus on organizational culture, customer satisfaction and developing people. In each role, Virginia used technology to improve productivity. By streamlining processes she has improved efficiency and enhanced communication capabilities to move the company forward.  Virginia has been recognized for her leadership both at work and in the community. In recent years she has been inducted into the Northeastern Ohio Business Hall of Fame (2013), received the Women of Power Award from the Akron Urban League (2013), and also received the Leadership Excellence Award from the National Diversity Council (2014). She has also been named to the Inside Business Power 100 list for the past six years (2011-2016) and the Crain's Cleveland Business Power 150 (2014). She was also named honorary chair for the 2015 Bridgestone Invitational Tournament, the first-ever woman to be named honorary chairperson for the tournament.  Virginia earned a Bachelor of Science degree (‘85) and an EMBA (‘95) from Kent State University. In 2013 she was appointed by Ohio Governor John Kasich to the Kent State Board of Trustees. She is past chair of The Boys and Girls Club of the Western Reserve and past chair of the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce. She also serves on a number of other boards, including Akron Children's Hospital, the Akron Community Foundation and FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).   Featured Host: Marsha Ershaghi Hames Marsha is a partner with Tapestry Networks and a leader of our corporate governance practice. She advises non-executive directors, C-suite executives, and in-house counsel on issues related to governance, culture transformation, board leadership, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining Tapestry, Marsha was a managing director of strategy and development at LRN, Inc. a global governance, risk and compliance firm. She specialized in the alignment of leaders and organizations for effective corporate governance and organizational culture transformation. Her view is that compliance is no longer merely a legal matter but a strategic and reputational priority.  Marsha has been interviewed and cited by the media including CNBC, CNN, Ethisphere, HR Magazine, Compliance Week, The FCPA Report, Entrepreneur.com, Chief Learning Officer, ATD Talent & Development, Corporate Counsel Magazine, the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and more. She hosted the “PRINCIPLED” Podcast, profiling the stories of some of the top transformational leaders in business. Marsha serves as an expert fellow on USC's Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making and on the advisory boards of LMH Strategies, Inc. an integrative supply chain advisory firm and Compliance.ai, a regulatory change management firm. Marsha holds an Ed.D. and MA from Pepperdine University. Her research was on the role of ethical leadership as an enabler of organizational culture change. Her BA is from the University of Southern California. She is a certified compliance and ethics professional.   Principled Podcast Transcription Intro: Welcome to the Principled Podcast brought to you by LRN. The Principled Podcast brings together the collective wisdom on ethics, business and compliance, transformative stories of leadership, and inspiring workplace culture. Listen in to discover valuable strategies from our community of business leaders and workplace changemakers. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: With increasing demands from institutional investors, employees, consumers, shareholders around ESG priorities, how are corporate boards ensuring that their companies are assessing, measuring, and shaping business strategy to be responsive to these expectations? Hello, and welcome to another episode of LRN's Principled Podcast. I'm your guest host, Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames, a partner at Tapestry Networks. Today, I'm joined by Virginia Addicott, the former president and CEO of FedEx Custom Critical. Virginia serves on the board of CDW Corporation and Element Fleet Management. We're going to be talking about the critical role of boards in shaping ethical corporate culture and why board diversity is essential to creating meaningful organizational change. Virginia is a real expert in the space, having carved out an impressive career in operations and innovation in logistics at a time when relatively few women were in the industry. Virginia joined FedEx Custom Critical in 1986 and quickly worked her way up the ranks holding director positions in various departments where she placed a strong focus on organizational culture, customer satisfaction, and developing people. Virginia has been inducted into the Northeastern Ohio Business Hall of Fame. She's received the Women of Power Award from the Akron Urban League and received the Leadership Excellence Award from the National Diversity Council. Virginia, thank you for coming on the Principled Podcast. Virginia Addicott: Well, thank you very much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: So let's get started from the top. You had such an accomplished career. You retired as president and CEO at FedEx Custom Critical before turning to a distinguished career of service on both corporate and nonprofit boards. Maybe to start, just share a little bit more about your journey and how these experiences have helped shape and prepare you for the lens of oversight and board service. Virginia Addicott: Yes, Absolutely. As you have mentioned, I had a really terrific career at the FedEx corporation leading the FedEx Custom Critical organization. I was with the organization for a little over 33 years. Unbelievable in this day and age I think. But I really did have a terrific career because I started out in the ranks and moved my way up quite quickly. I think really starting out really... I'll say doing the doing, having your hands dirty, and really in the operations really did shape and prepare me for ascending to the role of president and CEO because I really understood how the organization worked, how the people worked together. And through that 33 years, one of the biggest things that I did see was that culture is everything to an organization and how you treat your employees with fairness and dignity and making sure they know that they're valued in their work really makes the difference in how you can execute a strategy. And I love strategy, but without having a really engaged workforce, it's very difficult to take any strategy and put it into play. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: As you came through this, I would say, observation of the importance of the intersection of not just the execution, but the how we get there, there were relatively few examples of female leaders in your industry. A lot of how we look at the lens of decisions can be informed by our own personal and professional experiences. Tell us a little bit more about how your experience of perhaps being the first woman or the only woman in a room shaped how you took your next steps in your career and maybe some of the lessons that you're carrying forward into the boardroom. Virginia Addicott: Well, definitely when I began my career back in the '80s, the later '80s and 90s, you're right, there weren't that many women in the leadership levels of our industry and the transportation industry. And of course today, much different story to that. But one of the things that it was absolutely apparent to me is the whole need for diversity around a table, because one of the things that I witnessed was that when you have the same types of people all sitting around a table and they've had maybe similar backgrounds, similar experiences, et cetera, they come to the table with similar viewpoints. When you start bringing people to the table who have had diverse background, experience, you really do start to get a whole new possibility of how you'll take something forward, how you'll shape your strategy, how you'll handle and work with those people who are working with you and for you. So I really do think that the opportunity to be that person who was maybe the only or one of very few gave me the context as to how that feels and how important it is to have the diversity, but also how to embrace and engage and work with people who come from many different types of backgrounds. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: So I think embrace is a great characterization here because it starts with the willingness to be open and inclusive of ideas or points of view that may differ from your own. I've certainly been in dozens of conversations now with corporate directors that continue to reveal this pressing need for boards to really improve their understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion. And there's a lot of dialogue around the board's role in the governance of DEI, especially as investors and employees are demanding more progress from institutions. I'd like to get your reflections a little bit more on this. I mean, to what extent, both within your own industry, and I think more holistically, are you seeing progress around inclusivity, diversity, even gender parity, and what is really the responsibility that you feel is of the corporation in being more intentional about driving us forward? Virginia Addicott: Well, I have the luxury up sitting of course on a couple of boards. And I can tell you, on both of our boards, we have a really firm look at the entire ESG and we talk about it. But the number one thing we understand before you even get to ESG is how important diversity is. So it's not doing it because somebody just said, "Hey, we have this thing called ESG and this is what you need to do," it's really understanding, and again, embracing the idea that when you have people from different backgrounds, whether it's gender, whether it's ethnic, whether it's background of an experience, when you get those people around a table, you get a better answer. I can't quote them off the top of my head, but there's studies out there that show that when you do have this diversity, a company is much more likely to thrive, grow, and be profitable. So it's a no-brainer to know that that's important. Now, I'll tell you that the boards I sit on, we do talk about this at the board meeting and we do have metrics around it and have the human resources or the chief operating officer. But we include all of the C-level players at these companies in talking about, how are we doing? How can we do better? And really working around the ideas of acceptance of other ideas, embracing other people's thoughts and experiences. So it's an ongoing conversation and a dialogue. And again, it's not one done just because of ESG, it's done because we all understand that diversity will help our company be even better. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: Well, I mean, it's really a testament to the cultures of the boards you sit on too in terms of some of the progressive design and openness to keep this as a priority on agendas, to be more inclusive of some of the C-level executives. Not every board today is taking those approaches, so that's fantastic example. Virginia Addicott: At least my experience has been when you see a board that has good communication amongst themselves, good dialogue, and good dialogue, of course, with the C-level and even those below that level, when you've got good communication, and I'll say respectfulness of thoughts and opinions, that maybe I'll bring something up and maybe the chief operating officer, the CEO or somebody maybe they agree, maybe they disagree with my thought, but they're open to hearing the thought. I think that's where it all begins, is you've got to be respectful of each other and communicating with each other and open to each other's ideas first. Then when you start talking about diversity, certainly that then spills over into it. But I think you have to start with this notion that we are all here for the good of the whole, for the good of the company, for the good of the shareholder, and that we need to be open to ideas so that we don't go down the wrong path or make unnecessary twists and turns. But by listening to each other, we can come up with the best ideas. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: It's so important to point out just the simplicity, but the power of respect and respectful communication and good listening skills. Virginia Addicott: Yeah, absolutely. And it's great when you're sitting in a boardroom and people come up with ideas and we can banter them around. The board is not trying to certainly tell the executives how to run their company, but we're all in it together to advise and to talk about it and to have that good dialogue so that we can come up with the right answers to situations or strategy, et cetera. I think one of the things that I've really witnessed, I can say personally, what I've witnessed is this move from... with ESG coming out, is move from having a plan to become more diverse in an organization and maybe even over a couple of years where you see the plan and it gets presented again and we're not really making that great of a headway or... et cetera. For me, what I'm seeing is we are seeing the plan and we're seeing headway because we, the board, are saying, "Okay, so you didn't get to move the needle as much here, tell me what you're going to do next time." And then again, we banter it around, we talk about best practices we've seen other places, maybe some creative ideas defining diversity to come in or raising people up within the organization. But I think that this ESG certainly has prompted the notion that you can't just keep putting numbers up and them not moving. You need to see movement, and then let's get creative on how we're going to do that. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: Well, building a little bit on ESG issues. So you and I initially we met... You're part of our audit committee network and you have been fantastic contributor to our ethics, culture, and compliance network. However, every committee, I think, that you're on and you're a part of seems to be morphing into some sort of ESG committee. There's just so much focus now on climate risk, people, talent, cyber, tech transformation, and all these issues. And these are great examples around, how do we go from the plan to making headway on the plan? What would be your guidance for our listeners? How can boards start to really approach thinking or planning differently around oversight of these issues? What are some strategies you picked up where boards could be doing better? Virginia Addicott: I think one of the things that we've got to... at least we bring this one up, is that post... and I don't want to say post-COVID because obviously COVID is still alive and well, but I'll say post-vaccine, one of the things that we're seeing is a big stretch on people because of people exiting the workforce or moving companies. So I think one of the things is there is a heightened focus on climate and people and cyber, et cetera, as you've mentioned, and then we have this exit of people. So one of the things we have to do is really understand who is in charge of each of these things? What is the team, the committee? And make sure that they are staffed correctly to get the work done. Because what I'm seeing is quite a bit of stress in workforces just in general. So I think it's really making sure that when you look at each of these areas that are very important to us, that who is on point for it and what resources do they have to do this? The other piece for me that I'm seeing a lot of, which I really love, is the collaborative effort across the companies to address these issues. For instance, cyber is not an IT or technology issue, yes, probably the leadership and ownership sits there from the standpoint of the CIO or whoever it is in that organization, but it's the operations, it's the human resources, it's the marketing, it's the legal, and they all have to collaborate to make sure that we're in compliance, that we are on track with the cyber possibilities and the cyber threats. So one of the things I've seen through all of this is really a nice collaboration. We were just talking the other day, I was at a board meeting, and one of the things we were talking about, and this is around the diversity piece especially, was how everybody has to own diversity. And it's got to be a part of the fabric of each organization within the company. And it's not something we're checking off so that we can have an ESG score, it has to be woven into the fabric of everyday things that we do to make sure that people are, one, from the very beginning that we've got a diverse slate of candidates when we have jobs available, that we're working with let's say universities or colleges, or depending upon what the job is other people, to how do we develop a new slate of candidates? Then within our companies, making sure we're working from within the company to make sure people are getting the right development to move up. But it has to be, each and everything we have to do, are we doing things each day to make sure people feel included, that we're listening, and that we are valuing the opinions and inputs of people who may not look like us, may not come from the same country we do, may not worship the same way, may not like the same people that we do, et cetera? So for me, I'm seeing much more collaboration. And again, let's weave it into the fabric of the organization. This is not a number to check off. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: Yeah, no, this is an excellent example. And what I'm really hearing from you here is the ownership and the threading into the DNA as you're saying [inaudible 00:16:39] it in. How can boards activate this expectation? Because there's a lot of conversation around, who in management owns it? How much time do they have to be visible at the board level in terms of what's being measured and what's changing? But I've also heard, if the board is not demanding or asking of, are we able to affect change? So I'm just wondering, it's this tension between who's driving what? Who's taking those first steps? Virginia Addicott: Right. Definitely, the human resources type function or the chief diversity officer is going to present information. And of course, we want to see that and we want to see those metrics move. But I think one of the places that boards can really... let's say when a new position is coming available, a high-level position is coming available, are we asking, what does that slate of candidate look like? And I'll use the word demanding, but are we really pushing the idea that we need to see a diverse slate? But I think the other place where it's really a bit of a no-brainer and it's super easy to do is let's say the operations is reporting out on something, that we are asking that operational leader, the chief operating officer, or somebody, a director, et cetera, we're going to be asking them questions of their organization and what does their organization look like and how have they been taking other people's opinions and new ideas into putting them into play? I think it's asking the questions to many people, not just in that one section where we talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion. But really asking questions as we go through the entire board meeting and putting an emphasis on that. I think that really helps people get the idea that this isn't a check the box, it's a I need to live my life like this. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So much of this is a purpose, values orientation, but then it goes a little bit back to the culture of the board. Maybe that helps us shift to this topic of, you've been an active contributor to the ethics, culture, and compliance network. We formed a culture measurement working group earlier this year and you contributed to helping create a framework that boards can leverage as a guiding tool to assess culture. Tell me a little bit about how do you see frameworks like this helping directors really move the needle. How are you thinking or leveraging this even within your own boards? Virginia Addicott: I can tell you, when I was talking to one of my boards about being involved in this ethics, culture, and compliance network, they said, "Oh good. I really look forward to seeing what your outcomes are and maybe see how we can use it." So I think number one, from my standpoint, is certainly talking about it and talking about the work that we have been doing. And it was a great group that you all put together. I think there's a lot of boards that really want to do more around this, but maybe don't know how to get started or exactly what does this mean? So I think these frameworks help to frame the question, and what is culture? And what is diversity? What is inclusion? And then giving some good ideas on how the board can... as we just talked about, how can the board in their role as advisor, how can we help to either direct, redirect, or just ask those probing questions to make sure our organization is really embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion all the way through the organization? Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: Well, Virginia, I want to ask one last question before we wrap up, and this is going to be a little more personal. I want to go back to your life, your professional journey, building your career. As you mentioned, 33 years is an exceptional tenure, one that we just don't see in today's professional landscape. But I want to peel back the concept of mentorship. In all my interactions with you, you're incredibly confident, you draw from a strong notion of, "I've tried this." I'm confident asking even the questions that I don't know the answers to. And that's not always easy, especially for us as women, as we're building our careers. I've certainly had a number of mentors that have opened doors for me and that I've drawn upon and have guided me. I want to turn to you and see, were there any significant mentors, or shall I even call them professional sponsors, that maybe had an impact on examples or opening up the trajectory of your career path and how do you, looking back, look at their guidance and how do you in turn give back in terms of your mentorship? Virginia Addicott: Well, this is definitely a topic that I enjoy talking about it because I think it's really important. And absolutely I have had mentors and I have had champions. For me, just to clarify, I say a mentor is somebody that you can sit down and really talk about things with and, "Hey, this is the dilemma going on. Maybe how should I handle it?" Or, "Hey, I'm thinking about this career, I'm thinking about this job. Help me to develop myself for that role." That's to me a mentor. A champion or a sponsor for me is somebody who when I'm not in the room, they're the person saying, "Hey, Virginia would be great at that. Let's put Virginia in charge of that." Or new possibility coming up is speaking out and saying, "Oh, let's put her in that role." And I'm very much a person who wants to mentor men and women because I think everybody needs this. So I think sponsoring somebody, so speaking up for them on their behalf when they're not even there, and really being their champion and mentoring, helping to guide, are very important things. Yes, I've had plenty of them myself. And I still have them, so don't mishear me. I still have people who I go to and talk to. But I also am very keen always to help people who are in this upward climb of the corporate ladder, if you will. So I do spend quite a bit of time. I love doing it because it gives me the opportunity to share some of my experiences. And I will tell you, I'm very quick. In fact, I'm mentoring a young woman out of Chicago who has great upward mobility. And I was telling her something the other day, she was going to give a presentation, and I said, "Listen, I would love to work with you on the presentation if you want me to because I was given tremendous feedback that was so helpful to me." And I explained to her what I had done wrong and how it impacted me and how through some coaching that I got from an outside firm my presentations got so much better. So to me, it's not about, this is what you should do, but also giving experiences where it didn't work out so great for me and these were some of the things, the lessons I learned, and maybe I can impart that to you. But I really think it's very helpful for men and women to help those who are in these lower levels and have this upward trajectory and the desire to really take the time to stop, turn around, and as people say, lend a hand to pull somebody up along with you. As a woman, I think it's important to have mentors who are men and mentors who are women, because when we talk about diversity, people come at things from different angles, and people who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, not just somebody in your business line or your organization. So you get the idea. But I'm really big on mentoring. I love to do it, I love to spend the time with people, and it's so... I always say it, all through my career, the most rewarding piece of my career was not my upward mobility and climbing, but it was to see people that you were working with or that you had maybe hooked up with, another coach or mentor, to see them move ahead. That development to me was worth everything from the standpoint of making me feel like, okay, we are really accomplishing something here. So I certainly suggest to everybody that they get to be mentors and hopefully they're champions for people as well. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: No, you couldn't have said it any better. It can be so rewarding. And it's a very positive, if not infectious behavior. So I hope we can spread more of that. Virginia, I could speak to you for hours. I've learned so much through your reflections. But we're going to be respectful for our listeners' time. So I want to thank you for opening up and sharing a lot of your thoughts on all of these matters from ESG to the trajectory of your career, mentorship, being a good champion, the importance of diversity and culture. There's so much that we covered. But thank you Virginia for your time. Virginia Addicott: Thank you, Marsha. I really appreciate being asked to participate on your podcast. I hope that our discussion here today triggers something in somebody's mind to think differently about maybe whether it's ESG or culture or mentoring. It would be great. Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames: Thank you. Thank you. And to you all, I'm going to close up. This is Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames. I want to thank you all for listening to the Principled Podcast by LRN. Outro: We hope you enjoyed this episode. The Principled Podcast is brought to you by LRN. At LRN, our mission is to inspire principled performance in global organizations by helping them foster winning ethical cultures rooted in sustained values. Please visit us at lrn.com to learn more. And if you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen. And don't forget to leave us a review.  

Laura Kilcrease, CEO of Alberta Innovates discusses Inventures, Alberta's largest innovation  conference. The event brings together investors, entrepreneurs and global thought leaders who are redefining the future.  For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-165-transcription Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry. Guest: Laura Kilcrease is the Chief Executive Officer for Alberta Innovates, including its subsidiaries InnoTech Alberta and C-FER Technologies. Recruited from Austin, Texas, Laura is the founder and former-managing director of the venture capital fund Triton Ventures, LP. She is widely recognized as one of the key figures in changing Austin's economic landscape from one struggling with the economic ups and downs that come with oil dependence to a high-tech environment that is today recognized as one of the #1 Entrepreneur City and best place to live and work in the U.S. She is the founder of the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), one of the United States' first technology business incubators, and co-founder of the Austin Technology Council, a premier networking organization that cultivated the growth of the Austin economy. Laura also launched Capital Network, one of the largest angel investor networks in the U.S. with over $150 million in completed transactions. Laura has more than 25 years of hands-on experience in commercializing technology, and a deep understanding of how to identify and build new business opportunities. Prior to accepting the role as Alberta Innovates' CEO, Laura was a seven-year member of the Alberta Research and Innovation Advisory Committee, which guided the former Alberta Innovates' corporations. In Austin, she gave her time and expertise to a number of non-profit boards, including the Women's Leadership Advisory Board of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, the Beyster Institute, World Congress for Information Technology 2006, and the IC² Institute at The University of Texas at Austin, among many others. Laura has often been recognized for her outstanding achievements. She has received numerous honors and awards, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Austin Business Journal's Profiles in Power Award, and the University of Texas McCombs School of Business Women in Business Leadership Conference Trailblazer Award. Born in London, Laura received her certification as a Chartered Management Accountant in the U.K. and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Texas.  Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider giving a listen to the Shift Podcast by Alberta Innovates Show Links: Inventures Canada Alberta Innovates Show Quotes: "the last real live Inventures in 2019, within six months, there was $116 million of transactions done. And within the first year, even under COVID, it was approximately $246 million of deals done." "I'm also hoping that everyone can come out and reconnect with their old friends, but also meet their new partners. Because this is a time where we need to come together, post COVID, and really kick butt with the rest of the world." Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan  

Dear Life Warriors, When it comes to Shantay Carter, helping others is more than just a job- it's her passion and her purpose. From her daily work as a dedicated nurse to her ambitions as the founder of a thriving nonprofit organization. The New York area native has an extensive history of letting her caring nature guide her path. Shantay attended Binghamton University where she received a Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing. In 2000, she began working at Binghamton General Hospital as a Registered Nurse. In 2002, Shantay continued her career at Northwell Health Systems, where she worked as an orthopedic /trauma/ neurosurgery nurse.After noticing the lack of guidance for young girls in the Long Island area, Shantay decided to create Women of Integrity Inc. The eleven-year-old organization has already made huge strides in its mission to “empower and educate women of all ages and ethnicities”. Its signature event is its prom dress drive, prom dress giveaway, and prom makeover project that is executed each year.Shantay modestly holds a number of accomplishments and honors for her work including being a Wholeness of Life Award winner at North Shore University Hospital in 2012, and a NSLIJ Health System 2013 President's Award nominee. In 2014, Shantay was honored as a Making A Difference Award honoree for the Town Of Hempstead, and a semi-finalist in P&G's My Black is Beautiful Ambassador Search. In 2015, she received the Darby Foundation's Community Service Award and a Community Service Award from the Hempstead Chamber Of Commerce. In 2017, she was a Woman Of Power Honoree from the Caribbean Business Connections Organization, and was a  NAACP Community Service Award honoree. Shantay also became a published Author in 2017, when she penned her book Destined For Greatness, which has  gone on to become an Amazon Best Seller. She recently received the 2018 Caribbean American Healthcare Award, from Caribbean Life Magazine. She was  the Keynote Speaker for the Excellence in Success Nursing Awards. She received the 2018 Woman of Power Award from The Ladies of 3rd Thursday organization, and the Social Change Award from Farley Productions, Inc.  In 2019, she was a Long Island Diversity In Business Award Honoree. In 2020,  she received the  Town of Hempstead's Pathfinder Award, she was a  Nassau County Office of Minority Affairs Black History Month Award Honoree, and received the P.O.W.E.R. 2020 Women's Empowerment Award. In 2021, she received the Inner Vision Magazine, Women Who Rocked their Roles Honor, she was the Keynote Speaker for the NY Chapter of The American Nurses Association 9th Annual Conference, and recognized as Nurse Entrepreneur of The Year, by the Greater NYC Black Nurses Association. Shantay is also the Founder of Men Of Integrity Inc., and Co-Founder of Nurses Of Integrity. “I believe that what you put out in life, you get back,” explains Shantay. “So, if you put out positivity, then you will get back positivity— it's our job to give back in any way we can.”#dearlifewarriors #womenhistorymonth #ygbawards #lifechangingmoments #womenofintegrity

Maria Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for 35 years and co-founded Rappler, the top digital only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. For her courage and work on disinformation, Ressa was named Time Magazine's 2018 Person of the Year, was among its 100 Most Influential People of 2019, and has also been named one of Time's Most Influential Women of the Century. She was also part of BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 and Prospect magazine's world's top 50 thinkers. In 2020, she received the Journalist of the Year award, the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award, the Most Resilient Journalist Award, the Tucholsky Prize, the Truth to Power Award, and the Four Freedoms Award.Before founding Rappler, Maria focused on investigating terrorism in Southeast Asia. She opened and ran CNN's Manila Bureau for nearly a decade before opening the network's Jakarta Bureau, which she ran from 1995 to 2005. She wrote Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of al-Qaeda's Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia and From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism.PolicyCast is a production of Harvard Kennedy School and is hosted by Staff Writer and Producer Ralph RanalliPolicyCast is edited by Ralph Ranalli and co-produced by Susan Hughes. Natalie Montaner is our webmaster and social media strategist. Our designers are Lydia Rosenberg and Delane Meadows.For more information please visit our web page or contact us at PolicyCast@hks.harvard.edu.

Dan Gingiss has led marketing teams in nearly every marketing channel — from direct mail to email to social media for over 20 years. He also served in multiple customer service and customer experience leadership roles. Dan combines his professional experience at brands like Discover, McDonald's, and Humana with tons of real-life examples from B2C and B2B companies of all sizes to recommend actionable, profitable CX solutions. Dan speaks from his experiences of life “in the trenches” at a company he has worked for. He understands those dynamics and challenges and provides unique credibility, including leading a team that won the J.D. Power Award for Customer Satisfaction. In this episode, he shares how we can create a digital customer experience strategy to drive growth predictably. Insights he shares include: Why is spending your marketing budget on attracting new customers wrongIs creating a remarkable customer experience the best sales and marketing strategyWhy Dan decided to write the book - Experience MakerDigital customer experience vs. customer experienceManaging the digital customer experienceWhat is the WISER framework and why use itCommon misconceptions about digital customer experienceDo remarkable customer experiences need to be expensiveHow content can impact the creation of remarkable digital customer experiencesand much much more....

On this week's episode, Dan Gingiss joined the Voices of CX Podcast to promote his new book, The Experience Maker: How to Create Remarkable Experiences That Your Customers Can't Wait to Share. Customers are more than eager to share bad experiences - in fact, companies have trained them for it, whether they meant to or not. So, what does it take to get them to share the remarkable ones?

This week, the #hottakeoftheday podcast returns with Patrick Moore, the Director of the CO2 coalition. The reason I love podcasting is some topics are like a dinner with wine: you need time, conversation and thought. This week, we talk about the miracle gas that is CO2 and discuss- is it bad? Why isn't it bad? Where did narrative take over logic? Why don't we consider things before 1850? We know the CO2 concentration was 2800 ppm, 7x higher than today ... are we sure life can't adapt? In a world of narratives, it's nice to hear the counter point every once in a while. I've missed it! Hope you have too. Enjoy. Podcast Audio   #hottakeoftheday podcast episode #115 w/Patrick Moore https://youtu.be/mRoIPaPE3mM   About Patrick Patrick Moore, Ph.D. served as Chair of the CO2 Coaltiion in 2019 and 2020.   He is co-founder and 15-year leader of Greenpeace (1971-1986). Chairman and Chief Scientist, Ecosense Environmental. Leader, Campaign to Allow Golden Rice Now. Dr. Patrick Moore has been a leader in the international environmental field for over 40 years. He is a co-founder of Greenpeace and served for nine years as President of Greenpeace Canada and seven years as a Director of Greenpeace International. As the leader of many campaigns Dr. Moore was a driving force shaping policy and direction for 15 years while Greenpeace became the world's largest environmental activist organization. In recent years, Dr. Moore has been focused on the promotion of sustainability and consensus building among competing concerns. He was a member of British Columbia government-appointed Round Table on the Environment and Economy from 1990 – 1994. In 1990, Dr. Moore founded and chaired the BC Carbon Project, a group that worked to develop a common understanding of climate change. Dr. Moore served for four years as Vice President, Environment for Waterfurnace International, a manufacturer of geothermal heat pumps for residential heating and cooling with renewable earth energy. He also served as Vice-President, Industry and Government Affairs for NextEnergy Geothermal, the largest distributor of geothermal systems in Canada. As Chair of the Sustainable Forestry Committee of the Forest Alliance of BC from 1991 – 2002, he led the process of developing the “Principles of Sustainable Forestry” which were adopted by a majority of the industry. In 2010, Dr. Moore published Trees are the Answer, a photo-book that provides a new insight into how forests work and how they can play a powerful role in solving many of our current environmental problems. In 2013 he published Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout – The Making of a Sensible Environmentalist, which documents his 15 years with Greenpeace and outlines his vision for a sustainable future. From 2000-2012 he served as Chair and Chief Scientist of Greenspirit Strategies, a consultancy focusing on environmental policy and communications in forestry, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, mining, biodiversity, energy and climate change. From 2006-2012 he served as co-Chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, a US-based advocacy mission to build public support for more nuclear energy plants to provide electricity. In 2013 Dr. Moore, with his brother Michael and other family members, founded the Allow Golden Rice Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to seeing Golden Rice approved for commercial agriculture. 250 million children, mainly in the tropical countries, are deficient in vitamin A and as a result 2 million die each year. The Allow Golden Rice Now! Campaign demands that Greenpeace and their allies discontinue their campaign of opposition to Golden Rice, which could eliminate vitamin A deficiency if cultivated and consumed. In 2014 Dr. Moore was appointed Chair of Environmental Studies at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Dr. Moore is an independent ecologist/environmentalist with Ecosense Environmental Inc. “Speaking Truth to Power Award”,

This episode we're talking with Alberta's Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation, Doug Schweitzer; and Alberta Innovates CEO Laura Kilcrease about diversification and Alberta's economy and more.BIOSDoug SchweitzerMinister Doug Schweitzer was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on April 16, 2019, as the MLA for Calgary-Elbow.A dedicated husband, father of 2 young girls and a long-serving community volunteer, Schweitzer has a strong record of public service, including previously raising funds for military families and serving as Vice Chair of the Calgary Drug Treatment Court. He is passionate about restoring Alberta's promise – an Alberta in which, no matter where you came from, if you worked hard, you could succeed.Schweitzer was a partner at a leading Alberta law firm as a restructuring and bankruptcy lawyer. This experience gave him a first-hand view of the staggering impacts of failed policies that have led to job losses, economic stagnation and a loss of hope.Doug Schweitzer was appointed as Alberta's Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation on August 25, 2020. Schweitzer will oversee the implementation of Alberta's Recovery Plan, its sector strategies and Alberta's growth agenda.Schweitzer previously held the position of Alberta's Minister of Justice and Solicitor General where he made important progress tackling rural crime, advancing aspects of the fair deal panel report recommendations, and creating a faster, fairer and more responsible justice system. (Minister Schweitzer's bio was taken from the GoA's website.)Laura KilcreaseLaura Kilcrease is the Chief Executive Officer for Alberta Innovates, including its subsidiaries InnoTech Alberta and C-FER Technologies.Recruited from Austin, Texas, Laura is the founder and former-managing director of the venture capital fund Triton Ventures, LP. She is widely recognized as one of the key figures in changing Austin's economic landscape from one struggling with the economic ups and downs that come with oil dependence to a high-tech environment that is today recognized as one of the #1 Entrepreneur City and best place to live and work in the U.S.She is the founder of the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), one of the United States' first technology business incubators, and co-founder of the Austin Technology Council, a premier networking organization that cultivated the growth of the Austin economy. Laura also launched Capital Network, one of the largest angel investor networks in the U.S. with over $150 million in completed transactions.Laura has more than 25 years of hands-on experience in commercializing technology, and a deep understanding of how to identify and build new business opportunities. Prior to accepting the role as Alberta Innovates' CEO, Laura was a seven-year member of the Alberta Research and Innovation Advisory Committee, which guided the former Alberta Innovates' corporations.In Austin, she gave her time and expertise to a number of non-profit boards, including the Women's Leadership Advisory Board of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, the Beyster Institute, World Congress for Information Technology 2006, and the IC² Institute at The University of Texas at Austin, among many others.Laura has often been recognized for her outstanding achievements. She has received numerous honors and awards, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Austin Business Journal's Profiles in Power Award, and the University of Texas McCombs School of Business Women in Business Leadership Conference Trailblazer Award.Born in London, Laura received her certification as a Chartered Management Accountant in the U.K. and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Texas. 

On this episode of FNO: InsureTech we are once again joined by Tom Super, Head of P&C Insurance at J.D. Power. Tom brings some exciting news to us in regard to an insuretech first: Lemonade ranks highest in the renters insurance segment, marking the first time an insuretech brand ranks highest in a J.D. Power insurance study. Join Tom, Rob, and Lee as they discuss: this big accomplishment for Lemonade, what this means for insurance and insuretech; insights into some of the criteria for award, some interesting customer trends noticed by J.D. Power, and more.

Dr. Camelia Lawrence, MD, FACS is a board-certified surgeon specializing in benign and malignant breast disease. She has fellowship training in advanced breast cancer surgery, including skin and nipple-sparing mastectomy, sentinel node biopsy and oncoplastic techniques. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and her medical degree from the University Of Rochester School Of Medicine. She completed her residency at New York Medical College. She then entered her fellowship training at the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Santa Monica in Breast Surgical Oncology. She currently serves as the Director of Breast Surgery for the Hospital of Central Connecticut and Midstate Medical Center tasked with the responsibility of further developing their breast programs.She serves as Assistant Professor of Surgery at UConn School of Medicine, University of Connecticut where she works with medical students and surgical residents nurturing her personal interest in teaching and education of the future generation. She has co-authored a book chapter entitled “Benign Breast Diseases” published in Berek and Novak’s Gynecology, 2012 and served as a peer-reviewer for journals. Her scholarly activities yielded abstracts, poster presentations and papers. She has received numerous awards for her commitment to service including the Dr. Kenneth Woodard Memorial Award, Rush-Henrietta Rotary Club’s Dr. Edwin Robinson Humanitarian Award, and the Carrie-Ann Smith Award. In 2015 she was chosen by the Urban League of Southern Connecticut to receive the Woman of Power Award during the Women’s Empowerment Summit. She was awarded the 2017 Doctor of Distinction Award for Fairfield County, the American Cancer Society Award for Women Leading the Way to Wellness and the Susan G. Komen Inaugural More Than Pink Honor for her commitment to breast cancer care. Most recently she received the 100 Women of Color Award in Hartford, CT and the Southern CT Black Chamber of Commerce Business Woman of the Year Award. breast cancer risk factors breast cancer awareness public health oncologyFollow Knowledgeable Aging:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Knowledgeable-Aging-102638398162823Twitter: https://twitter.com/KnowledgeAgingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/knowledgeableaging/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/knowledgeable-aging/?viewAsMember=trueSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/05OHF9FkmhzCO5PDsyGfGqNewsletter: https://www.knowledgeableaging.com/newsletter/

EPISODE 077 with Tim McDermott, Chief Business Officer of the Philadelphia Union Tim McDermott joined the Philadelphia Union as Chief Business Officer on Jan. 27, 2016. He oversees all of the club’s business operations, including its USL team, Bethlehem Steel FC, which played its inaugural game in 2016, as well as the Philadelphia Union Academy. Since joining the Union, McDermott’s efforts have been focused on increasing the brand strength, fan base, and revenue opportunities. Under his oversight, the Union achieved their highest ever single-season partnership revenue in 2017 and achieved consecutive seasons of ticket revenue growth for the first time in franchise history. The club also won the 2017 J.D. Power Award for Best Fan Experience in Philadelphia and was named the 2017 MLS Digital Team of the Year as well as the 2018 eMLS Team of the Year. Tim leads the business operations of the Philadelphia Union, Bethlehem Steel FC (USL), and the Union Academy. Tim is also a self-proclaimed growth acceleration leader and idea guy…who loves his family more than anything. On this episode we discussed: How Tim is using his innovative approach to help the Philadelphia Union overcome the challenges associated with COVID-19 The development strategies Tim is implementing to help improve the community around the Philadelphia Union, despite dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic How Tim's constant curiosity has helped him focus on innovation Tim's approach to keeping the Union's team engaged while working remotely How you can help the Philadelphia Union and the surrounding community Production Credits: This Self Made Strategies Podcast is a SoftStix Productions LLC jawn. This episode was produced, edited, and hosted by Tony Lopes, REMOTELY (because we are obeying the COVID-19 isolation orders) in Philadelphia.  The Self Made Strategies Podcast is sponsored by Lopes Law LLC (www.LopesLawLLC.com). Make sure you subscribe to the Self Made Strategies Podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. You can find us on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spreaker. Follow us on: • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • LinkedIn

EPISODE 077 with Tim McDermott, Chief Business Officer of the Philadelphia UnionTim McDermott joined the Philadelphia Union as Chief Business Officer on Jan. 27, 2016. He oversees all of the club’s business operations, including its USL team, Bethlehem Steel FC, which played its inaugural game in 2016, as well as the Philadelphia Union Academy.Since joining the Union, McDermott’s efforts have been focused on increasing the brand strength, fan base, and revenue opportunities. Under his oversight, the Union achieved their highest ever single-season partnership revenue in 2017 and achieved consecutive seasons of ticket revenue growth for the first time in franchise history. The club also won the 2017 J.D. Power Award for Best Fan Experience in Philadelphia and was named the 2017 MLS Digital Team of the Year as well as the 2018 eMLS Team of the Year.Tim leads the business operations of the Philadelphia Union, Bethlehem Steel FC (USL), and the Union Academy. Tim is also a self-proclaimed growth acceleration leader and idea guy…who loves his family more than anything.On this episode we discussed:• How Tim is using his innovative approach to help the Philadelphia Union overcome the challenges associated with COVID-19• The development strategies Tim is implementing to help improve the community around the Philadelphia Union, despite dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic• How Tim's constant curiosity has helped him focus on innovation• Tim's approach to keeping the Union's team engaged while working remotely• How you can help the Philadelphia Union and the surrounding communityProduction Credits:This Self Made Strategies Podcast is a SoftStix Productions LLC jawn. This episode was produced, edited, and hosted by Tony Lopes, REMOTELY (because we are obeying the COVID-19 isolation orders) in Philadelphia.  The Self Made Strategies Podcast is sponsored by Lopes Law LLC (www.LopesLawLLC.com).Make sure you subscribe to the Self Made Strategies Podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. You can find us on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spreaker.Follow us on:• Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • LinkedIn

Tim McDermott joined the Philadelphia Union as Chief Business Officer on Jan. 27, 2016. He oversees all of the club’s business operations, including its USL team, Bethlehem Steel FC, which played its inaugural game in 2016, as well as the Philadelphia Union Academy. Since joining the Union, McDermott’s efforts have been focused on increasing the brand strength, fan base, and revenue opportunities. Under his oversight, the Union achieved their highest ever single-season partnership revenue in 2017 and achieved consecutive seasons of ticket revenue growth for the first time in franchise history. The club also won the 2017 J.D. Power Award for Best Fan Experience in Philadelphia and was named the 2017 MLS Digital Team of the Year as well as the 2018 eMLS Team of the Year. This past season, the Union celebrated it’s tenth season by making a very exciting run at the playoffs. The Union finished the year with an exciting and nail-biting win (4 – 3 over the NY Red Bulls), but ultimately lost 2 – 0 in Atlanta. Tim leads the business operations of the Philadelphia Union, Bethlehem Steel FC (USL), and the Union Academy. Tim is also a self-proclaimed growth acceleration leader and idea guy...who loves his family more than anything. SHOW AgendaOn today’s episode we will:• Get to know Tim and hear more about the Philadelphia Union• Discuss how Tim is innovating the Philadelphia Union and helping move the Union in a new direction• Then we will dive into the organizational strategies Tim uses to get buy-in from industry stakeholders OUTLINE:• The development strategies Tim is implementing to help grow and innovate the Philadelphia Union• The pitfalls and hurdles Tim has encountered, while trying to grow the Union’s brand• The marketing mix Tim uses for the Philadelphia Union and the key factors you should take into consideration for your own organization’s marketing mix• The best marketing mix for most organizations• How Tim is leveraging organic content marketing solutions to grow the Union’s brand, and how you can too• What to do when you are pushing the levels of innovation and risk beyond the status quo, and stakeholders are not buying in or giving you pushback on your ideas• Why the Union is branching out into new and innovative areas, such as esports and entertainment • How to ensure that you are maintaining the highest level of leadership and vision to the Union• The top 3 best practices, and worst 3 pitfalls, you should avoid while trying to innovate• You’ll also hear about how the Union is working hard to improve the local community• And so much more!After you’ve listened to the episode, make sure you visit the Philadelphia Union’s website (https://www.philadelphiaunion.com) to get more information about new things happening at the Union, or check out their upcoming events. Make sure you subscribe to the Self Made Strategies Podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. You can find us on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spreaker.You can also connect with us on: • https://www.facebook.com/selfmadestrategies/ •• https://twitter.com/SelfMadeStratGs •• https://www.instagram.com/selfmadestrategies/ •• https://www.linkedin.com/company/self-made-strategies/ •

This is the Self Made Strategies Hustle Story about Tim McDermott, the Chief Business Officer of the Philadelphia Union (https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/club/mcdermott). Tim McDermott joined the Philadelphia Union as Chief Business Officer on Jan. 27, 2016. He oversees all of the club’s business operations, including its USL team, Bethlehem Steel FC, which played its inaugural game in 2016, as well as the Philadelphia Union Academy. Since joining the Union, McDermott’s efforts have been focused on increasing the brand strength, fan base, and revenue opportunities. Under his oversight, the Union achieved their highest ever single-season partnership revenue in 2017 and achieved consecutive seasons of ticket revenue growth for the first time in franchise history. The club also won the 2017 J.D. Power Award for Best Fan Experience in Philadelphia and was named the 2017 MLS Digital Team of the Year as well as the 2018 eMLS Team of the Year. This past season, the Union celebrated it’s tenth season by making a very exciting run at the playoffs. The Union finished the year with an exciting and nail-biting win (4 – 3 over the NY Red Bulls), but ultimately lost 2 – 0 in Atlanta. Tim leads the business operations of the Philadelphia Union, Bethlehem Steel FC (USL), and the Union Academy. Tim is also a self-proclaimed growth acceleration leader and idea guy...who loves his family more than anything. About the SMS Hustle Story Check out this short clip, where we learn about how Tim is innovating the way the Philadelphia Union work and how he got started on her entrepreneurial journey. Make sure you tune in this Thursday, wherever you listen to your podcasts, to hear Tim’s episode on the Self Made Strategies Podcast.Then go to www.SelfMadeStrategies.com for more information about our show, exclusive content and to contact the Self Made Strategies hosts. Make sure you subscribe to the Self Made Strategies Podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. You can find us on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spreaker.You can also connect with us on: • https://www.facebook.com/selfmadestrategies/ •• https://twitter.com/SelfMadeStratGs •• https://www.instagram.com/selfmadestrategies/ •• https://www.linkedin.com/company/self-made-strategies/ •

On the dozenth episode of the 'pod, Neel and Julius talk about which 2020 candidate would win the J.D. Power Award, (Corporate S)Hillary Clinton's comments on the 2016 election, and how fricking terrible capitalism is. We also discuss how Copala Harris finally dropped out, Rand Paul's classist-ass college debt plan, and how both Jeff Bezos and the holiday of Thanksgiving are objectively terrible. Mashed potatoes may taste good, but the historical genocide of Native Americans and the whitewashed history behind colonizer holidays sure doesn't! If you want some more fun communist memes, follow us on Instagram (@teens_talk_politics) and Twitter (@teens_talk_pod_). Subscribe to us on whatever podcast service you use, and if you have any questions, contact us through social media or leave a voice message at https://anchor.fm/teens-talk-politics ! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/teens-talk-politics/message

This week, Neel and Julius livestream the podcast on Instagram! Topics include talking trash about leftist Twitter's least favorite moderate, who really holds political/economic power in America (hint hint, it ain't the people), and a beginner's guide to Why Imperialism Is Bad. We also complain about this year's winner of the J.D. Power Award for Excellence in Corporate Greed, Jeffery Bezos. If you're already here, do consider following us on Instagram (@teens_talk_politics) and Twitter (@teens_talk_pod_), and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Google Play, Spotify, Youtube, and more! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us on social media, and if you don't share this podcast, Whole Foods will come and steal your healthcare in your sleep! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/teens-talk-politics/message

Welcome to La Batalla Podcast where we discuss daily issues! Our theme today is: Men vs Women Bosses. In this show we air Part 2 of our interview with Esteban Ventura. Esteban Ventura speaks about his experience with both men and women bosses. Our special guest for episode three will be, Aaron Thibault! Have something to share? Can you relate? Participate and add your comments to the comment section! Follow, subscribe and like us on SoundCloud, Apple Podcast and Stitcher! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter @batallapodcast Thank you for listening! Hasta Luego! Show Segments: • Colibri and Super La Vaca discuss how to battle the heat. • Esteban Ventura Interview: Men vs Women Bosses. • Colibri and Super La Vaca discuss political situation in Puerto Rico. • Super La Vaca: Top Ten: Beat the Heat: Tips for Staying Cool in the Workplace. https://www.ricsrecruit.com/article/beat-the-heat-tips-for-staying-cool-in-the-workplace/ • All Music for the show produced and edited by MVT Our invited guest- Esteban Ventura aka “El Aguila” Esteban Ventura is a Telecommunications executive with 33 years experience in the Cable Television Industry. He studied Electronics at the University of Puerto Rico as well as, Accounting and Finance at the University of Denver - Daniels College of Business. Mr. Ventura served as Military Police for the Texas State Guard. Esteban Ventura has experience in key relationship building with franchise authorities at State, County, City and Federal Government levels. He successfully managed a cable company and directed the construction of a fiber optic network upgrade. His leadership won the J.D. Power Award for BEST Business Class High Speed Internet service.

Welcome to La Batalla Podcast where we discuss daily issues. Our topic today is: Dealing with Difficult Bosses. In this show we air Part 1 of our interview with “El Aguila”. He gives us a few insights on how to navigate situations at work. On our next show we will air Part 2 of that interview where we discuss what the differences are, if any, between men and women bosses. Have something to share? Can you relate? Participate and add your comments to the comment section! Follow, subscribe and like us on SoundCloud, Apple Podcast and Stitcher! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter @batallapodcast Thank you for listening! Show Segments: •Colibri and Super Vaca introduce themselves. •Aguila Interview: How to deal with a difficult boss. •Super La Vaca: If You Do These 10 Things, You're Probably a terrible Co-Worker. https://www.workitdaily.com/signs-of-a-terrible-coworker Our Interviewed Guest - Esteban Ventura aka El Aguila Esteban Ventura is a Telecommunications executive with 33 years experience in the Cable Television Industry. Mr.Ventura studied Electronics at the University of Puerto Rico and Accounting and Finance for Operations Managers at the University of Denver - Daniels College of Business. He served as Military Police with the Texas State Guard. Esteban Ventura has experience in key relationship building with franchise authorities such as State, County, City and Federal Government. He successfully managed a major cable company, and directed the construction of a Fiber Optic Network Upgrade. As a result his leadership won the J.D. Power Award for BEST Business Class High Speed Internet service. Awards Recognition Award for Heroism -Laredo Police Dept. 2000 Andrew Haskell Community Service Award Nominee – by Glenn A Britt, Chairman and CEO Time Warner Cable 2002 He also served in the Rotary Club International and Kiwanis Club Organizations and was a Vice President of Commercial Accounts for the local United Way Organization. Mr. Ventura is currently enjoying retirement with a bit of consulting every now and then.

A CEO’s Virtual Mentor Episode 17 "Leading a Regional Electricity Grid and the Transition to a Clean Energy Future" with Gordon van Welie, President and CEO of ISO New England Welcome to Episode 17. I joined Gordon Van Welie, President and Chief Executive Officer of ISO New England on a clear late summer's day at his office just outside of Springfield, Massachusetts. The general population would likely not be aware of the pivotal and critical role that an independent system operator plays in the reliable delivery of electricity across large regions of the United States moment by moment, 24/7. ISO New England is an independent system operator that is responsible for the transmission of electricity across the six-state New England region that includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The company's power system engineers, economists, computer scientists and other professionals ensure that the region has reliable, competitively priced wholesale electricity today and into the future. Gordon hails from South Africa and spent the foundational years of his career in a variety of engineering roles with Eskom, South Africa's electric utility. He joined Siemens and served as vice president and general manager of their power system's control division, delivering IT solutions for electric companies. From Siemens, he joined ISO New England as COO in September of 2000 and, shortly thereafter, was promoted to CEO in May of 2001.   Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe on iTunes.  See you next time. Informative and Helpful Links FERC Orders 888 and 889 ISO New England’s website    Program Guide Episode 17 Leading a Regional Electricity Grid and the Transition to a Clean Energy Future An Interview with Gordon van Welie, President and Chief Executive Officer of ISO New England  0:30     Introduction to Episode 17 1:07     Introduction to ISO New England and Gordon van Welie its President and CEO 2:18     Foundations and origins of Independent System Operators and Regional Transmission Operators 3:50     Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Orders 888 and 889 4:30     Critical policy question – how to decarbonize the electric system. 8:05     Break 1 8:22     The regional, state and federal level policy tapestry that affects the ISO 14:50   Break 2 10:56   The regional-level versus state-level policy in New England 17:55   Break 3 18:17   Operational risks such as fuel supply and the changing generation resource mix 19:23   “Fuel security” explained 21:24   Break 4 21:46   Is there a phased approach to a carbon-free future that assures power availability? 24:16   Electricity storage and other constraints on arrival speed to our clean energy future 26:40   Break 5 27:01   What can policy makers do to alleviate the constraints? 28:47   Resources, people and talent at the ISO that lead and stay abreast 30:26   Working with universities – intern programs and R&D work with professors 32:23   Closing comments – Perspective for young people coming up in a dramatically more exciting electric industry.   Biographies of Guests Mr. Gordon van Welie  Gordon van Welie is President and Chief Executive Officer of ISO New England Inc., having previously served as the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He joined ISO New England from Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution LLC, where he served as Vice President and General Manager of the Power Systems Control Division and was responsible for managing information technology solutions for electric companies. Before coming to Siemens, Mr. van Welie held several positions at ESKOM, South Africa’s electric utility based in Johannesburg. Mr. van Welie is a member of the Executive Committee of the US National Committee of CIGRE and the Member Representatives Committee of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). In 2016, he was awarded the Leadership in Power Award from the IEEE Power & Energy Society. Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes: https://t.co/a70rtSiQnW Follow Leadership Lyceum on:          Our website: www.LeadershipLyceum.com          LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-linquist-682997          Twitter: @LeaderLyceum https://twitter.com/LeaderLyceum Email us: info@LeadershipLyceum.com Please subscribe to the Leadership Lyceum at iTunes which will enable future content to come to you automatically.  Rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.    Your host Thomas B. Linquist is the Founder and Managing Partner of Lyceum Leadership Consulting and Lyceum Leadership Productions. Over his 17 years in management and leadership consulting he has served a wide array of industrial clients.  This includes leadership assessment and search for chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and boards of directors.  He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and over his 28-year career has served in a variety of roles: as an engineer with Shell Oil Company, a banker with ABN AMRO Bank, and as treasurer was the youngest corporate officer in the 150+ year history at Peoples Energy Company in Chicago.  He is an expert on hiring and promotion decisions and leadership development.  Over the course of his search career, he has interviewed thousands of leaders.  Please subscribe to the Leadership Lyceum in the podcast section at iTunes which will enable future content to come to you automatically. Rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.   Program Disclaimer The only purpose of the podcasts is to educate, inform and entertain. The information shared is based on the collection of experiences of each of the guests interviewed and should not be considered or substituted for professional advice. Guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, experience and conclusions, and neither The Leadership Lyceum LLC nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular content, recommendation or methodology discussed in this podcast. This podcast Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor has been a production of The Leadership Lyceum LLC. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.

REPOST SEPTEMBER 24, 2018: Bill Frost (SLUGMag.com & X96 Radio From Hell) and Tommy Milagro (a local wrestling event near you) talk the unforgivable crap cannon of the new fall broadcast TV season (this week: Magnum PI, Manifest, FBI, New Amsterdam, Single Parents, A Million Little Things, Murphy Brown, The Cool Kids and God Friended Me), Mayans, Mr. Inbetween, Channel Zero: The Dream Door, Veronica Mars is go at Hulu, Maniac madness, South Park Season 22(!), Rasslin' News, Dr. Dre vs. Apple and What to Watch Harder (The Gifted, The Good Place, Shameless, The Deuce, Mayans, Mr. Inbetween, Maniac, BoJack Horseman, Wynonna Earp, Killjoys, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Ballers, Wrecked, Better Call Saul, Lodge 49, Ring Warriors, Lucha Underground and Saturday Night Live w/ Kylo & Kanye). Drinking: Oktoberfest and Cottonwood Common lagers from OFFICAL TV Tan sponsor Bohemian Brewery.

NSFW (New Season For ... What?!): Bill Frost (SLUGMag.com & X96 Radio From Hell) and Tommy Milagro (a local wrestling event near you) talk the unforgivable crap cannon of the new fall broadcast TV season (this week: Magnum PI, Manifest, FBI, New Amsterdam, Single Parents, A Million Little Things, Murphy Brown, The Cool Kids and God Friended Me), Mayans, Mr. Inbetween, Channel Zero: The Dream Door, Veronica Mars is go at Hulu, Maniac madness, South Park Season 22(!), Rasslin' News, Dr. Dre vs. Apple and What to Watch Harder (The Gifted, The Good Place, Shameless, The Deuce, Mayans, Mr. Inbetween, Maniac, BoJack Horseman, Wynonna Earp, Killjoys, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Ballers, Wrecked, Better Call Saul, Lodge 49, Ring Warriors, Lucha Underground and Saturday Night Live w/ Kylo & Kanye). Drinking: Oktoberfest and Cottonwood Common lagers from OFFICAL TV Tan sponsor Bohemian Brewery.

About our Guest: Doreen Rainey Doreen Rainey works as the Vice President of Operations at Act Like A Success, a Steve Harvey company. As a personal and business coach and speaker, she shares practical and implementable strategies, tools, and processes to get desired results. To stay up to date on the latest information across a multitude of fields, Doreen frequently interviews and talks with experts, thought leaders, and industry insiders. She then shares her insights with clients and the community.   Alechia Reese A certified professional international speaker and author of award-winning book Eating Elephants, Alechia Reese has worked with big name companies including Progressive, UPS, BET, and Verizon. Specializing in brand identity, strategic marketing, public relations, and execution, she is the Director of PR and Creative Marketing for Soledad O’Brien’s PowHERful Foundation. Alechia’s commitment to empowering others was rewarded in the form of the Woman of Power Award presented by Bank of America and NABA NYC.   Todd Wahnish Todd Wahnish is the Founder of cleverera.com.. He is an award winning artist, animator and product designer having created notable works for Marvel Entertainment, Cartoon Network, and artist Jeff Koons. He holds a BFA from the Atlanta College of Art, is married to his beautiful co-founder and loves making things people want through story centered design.   Episode Summary Whether you’re a CEO, a founder of a successful startup business, or a high-achieving employee, everyone needs to form partnerships and relationships in the business world. But how do you know if a partnership can be fruitful or if the value you contribute is recognized by your client? Kevin invites Doreen Rainey, Alechia Reese, and Todd Wahnish to this episode of CEO Talks to hash out what it takes to be an asset in a partnership while staying true to your goals.   Insight from this episode: Secrets and techniques for building and maintaining relationships and partnerships. Crucial steps to take when doing work for free without diminishing the value you provide. Doreen shares strategies for landing game-changing partnerships. Strategies for establishing authentic relationships. How to make client testimonials really work for you. How to salvage a relationship if a business venture falls apart. Strategies for deciding who to bring into your inner circle.   Resources Mentioned: The RADICAL Success Institute   Quotes from the show: “I always encourage people, ‘What can you do right now from where you are, to show people that you’re bringing something to the table?’” - Doreen Rainey, Episode 132 “Yeah, you know you want the partnership, but people do business with people who they know, trust, and like. In order to get to the liking piece, they’ve got to get to know you and trust you.” - Alechia Reese, Episode 132 “So when you start to launch a business, you have to start thinking about, ‘What is it that I can provide? What is it that I can present that is positioned as a free value or something that shows my value to another business?’ But where, from your perspective, from your footprint, it is a win-win.” - Tom Wahnish, Episode 132 “You want to operate with an MVP. That minimal viable product.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Episode 132 “I’m always telling people that you never know who’s watching and so you always have to bring your A game.” - Doreen Rainey, Episode 132 “There’s always a seat at the table for excellence.” - Alechia Reese quoting her mentor, Episode 132 “I think what’s also interesting about that is the idea behind bringing excellence, the idea behind bringing your A game. It’s not necessarily about showing off. Right? It’s about understanding and proving the benefits to the other person.” - Todd Wahnish, Episode 132 “In a world full of liabilities, you’ve got to figure out how you can be the asset.” - Alechia Reese, Episode 132   Stay Connected:   Create Your Life Series: https://www.facebook.com/cylseries/ https://www.instagram.com/cylseries/   Kevin: www.kevinybrown.com www.instagram.com/kevinybrown www.twitter.com/kevinybrown www.facebook.com/kevbrown001   Doreen Rainey: doreenrainey.com/ www.instagram.com/doreenrainey www.twitter.com/DoreenRainey www.linkedin.com/in/doreenrainey www.facebook.com/CoachDoreenRainey   Alechia Reese: www.alechiareese.com/ www.instagram.com/alechiareese www.twitter.com/alechiareese www.linkedin.com/in/alechiareese www.facebook.com/alechiareese   Todd Wahnish: www.cleverera.com www.instagram.com/wahnish twitter.com/wahnish www.facebook.com/todd.wahnish   Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on  itunes, google play, stitcher and www.createyourlifeseries.com/podcast

Dan's 20-year career has consistently focused on delighting customers, spanning multiple disciplines including Social Media, Customer Service, Marketing, and Digital Customer Experience. Dan is the author of the new book, Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Engaging Experiences on Social Media, which is available on Amazon. He also co-hosts the Experience This! podcast, a weekly look at what’s working – and not working! – in the world of customer experience. Previously, Dan hosted the Focus on Customer Service Podcast, where he interviewed nearly four dozen brands which are renowned for outstanding customer service in Social Media, garnering tips and best practices. The podcast was named one of "The 50 Best Customer Retention Podcasts to Help You Attract, Engage and Retain Customers" by NGDATA. A frequent conference speaker, at conferences such as: Social Media Marketing World, Social Shake-Up, Corporate Social Media Summit, The Customer Service Summit, The Secret Service Summit, and more, Dan has also been named to several notable industry lists, including:   "The 30 Most Influential People in Social Customer Service" by Conversocial "The Top 15 NPS & Customer Service Thought Leaders to Follow in 2017" by CustomerGauge   Dan has also been responsible for Social Media, digital marketing, and customer experience at several Fortune 300 brands, including being the Senior Director of Global Social Media at McDonald’s Corporation, Head of Digital Marketing at Humana and Head of Digital Customer Experience and Social Media at Discover. He played a key role in Discover winning its first J.D. Power Award for “Highest in Customer Satisfaction.” Dan also holds a B.A. in Psychology and Communications from the University of Pennsylvania, and he has an M.B.A. in Marketing and Strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He resides in Chicago with his family and is an avid Cubs fan.   Questions   Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey What are some tips for an organization who is now embarking on using social media as a part of their marketing tool or their marketing strategy? What are some of the main things you have noticed over the years as being in customer care on social media? Why do you think people tend to flock to social media? How do you stay motivated every day? What is one online resource, website, tool or app that you absolutely cannot live without in your business? What are some of the books that have had the biggest impact on you? What is the one thing in your life right now that you are really excited about – something that you are working on to develop yourself or people? Where can our listeners find you online? What is one quote or saying that you live by or that inspires you in times of adversity?   Highlights   Dan Gingiss has been a marketer for more than 20 years and the role that really pushed him into customer experience was at Discover Card. He was recruited into a role in the digital team and asked to lead Digital Customer Experience and it was interesting to him because the guy that recruited him there who is the Chief Digital Officer noticed something about him or was able to verbalize something about him that he had not actually figured out about himself yet and he said that the reason why he wanted him to lead this with very little digital experience on his resume was that he had a unique ability to always be wearing the customer hat in almost every meeting he was in. And so, as he thought about that he was like, “Yeah, that actually is me.” He loves to put myself into the customer's shoes and try to be the customer so that he knows what it is that he’d like to see or what he’d like to experience and that helps him to design better experiences so that was a really fun role for him because his team was leading the website and eventually the mobile app. And just to give an idea, Discover which is not even one of the biggest Credit Cards in the U.S. gets almost 50 million logins a month on their website. So, it is the key way that customers engage with their Credit Card company. And so, there's so many opportunities to improve and develop new experiences as they do that. So that was his role. It also got him into Social Media and in Social Media as a marketer, the thing that interested him the most was that it's the first and only Marketing Channel where people can actually talk back to you. So, every other Marketing Channel the brand gets to have a megaphone and kind of shout its message at people and people either have to listen or perhaps they can turn off or change the channel. But this is the first channel where people can talk back to and that was immediately fascinating to him because he knew that companies that engage with their customers were going to be differentiated and that in itself was a way to improve the customer experience. So, that's kind of how he got into this and from there it's just been something that he has been fascinated by. He has written about it, he has been podcasting about it, and it continues to be a topic that he thinks is absolutely critical for virtually every business out there.   Yanique mentioned that the whole platform of customer experience over the years clearly has changed as indicated in the introduction where Dan said before traditionally marketers would be using a megaphone and kind of shouting their messages to the customer. A big part of customer experience now especially with Social Media is that the customer now has a platform by which they can express their voice and so testimonials have become such an integral role in terms of customers making decisions. It's no longer what you say the brand is but it's not what your customers say the experience and the brand experience is like.   Dan agreed and stated that we all expect that when we go to a business's website, that website is going to tell us great things about the business because it's speaking, so we're used to that. And that's a good first step to figure out what it is we're getting ourselves into but with almost any product or service the very next step is to figure out what other people are saying and whether that's a ratings and reviews site or it's looking up the company on Facebook or on Twitter. These are really important steps in the buying journey. And so, the extent to which companies can ensure that as prospects go through that buying journey they're hearing good things about their company or if they're hearing complaints that they're seeing a company that cares enough to listen to those complaints and respond to them. That's becoming really critical and he thinks the companies that are figuring it out are the ones that are getting more business because people are taking into consideration besides price and product, they're taking into consideration the willingness of the company to engage with me if I have a problem as a as a big part of the decision.   Dan stated that when social started that's exactly what brands did is they said, “Hey, this is another way for us to shout our message at the masses.” It's a cheap way for us to do that especially back in the day before it became mostly a paid channel. And he thinks that they quickly figured out that this was a different kind of channel and that customers were not going to stand around for just hearing marketing messages. If you think about it, what's amazing about Social Media is that all the power has shifted from the company to the customer, the customer at any time can unfollow a company or just not pay attention to it anymore. And as we all know when we look at our streams and Facebook and Twitter we're seeing a lot of content. So, it's very easy for us to just scroll past it if it's something we're not interested in but he does think that more and more customers as they're evaluating companies they want to do business with are looking at their social presence to make sure that it isn't just marketing and to make sure that when people do bring questions or complaints to their attention that that company is engaging back. It is a new world in which consumers want to have a relationship with companies and that relationship is two way and it involves being able to have a conversation with the brand. When I want to and where I want to. And so, looking on the Twitter feed or the Facebook feed to make sure that a company is willing to do that as he said he believe is becoming more and more part of the decision-making process.   Yanique mentioned that one of the things that her customers sometimes ask her and as an expert in Social Media Customer Care, she would love to hear his feedback on it. Typically, what do you think is the global standard or do you think it should be a standard based on the industry that you are in if you post complained or comment on someone's social media page. What is a standard time within which they should get back in touch with you. Is it immediately? And when we say immediately, what do we define that as, 24 hours, an hour, 30 minutes?   Dan stated that the time to get in touch with a customer after a complaint or comment was posted does differ slightly by industry. He would say that best in class is 15 minutes or less. He doesn’t think that people expect instant yet unless they're on a channel like a live chat. But he thinks 15 minutes or less is considered best in class. Now there are some caveats to that. If you are an international airline that operates 24 hours a day you know the expectation is that you are available 24 hours and that you're responding quickly because your customers might be stranded in an airport having just missed a flight and they cannot wait for a response. If you are a mom and pop retail store that has one location that's open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day, there's probably not as much expectation that you are responding 24/7. And into that kind of a company he would advise that as long as you are upfront with your customers about when you're available and you set expectations properly it's absolutely fine for you not to be available all the time. The challenge is that more and more consumers are evaluating every company they do business with in comparison to every other company they do business with. If you are a restaurant, you're not necessarily being compared to another restaurant, you're being compared to Amazon or Sprint or Comcast or whatever company. I just had a really great experience with on social media and who answered my question in 15 minutes or less. So that's the challenge is that you don't get to say, “Well. I'm just a small restaurant.” And so, my customers’ expectations aren't as high because unfortunately you're being compared to all those other companies. Now the good news is those other companies are also being compared to you. So, when he goes into a restaurant and he has a really nice waiter or waitress and the food is delicious and the overall atmosphere and experience are fantastic, the next day when he walks into the Sprint store or some other place, he is comparing that experience to what he just had at the restaurant. So, he thinks that the short answer to the question is, he has always tried it at the companies he has been at to aim for 15 minutes or less, that is best in class across all industries but certainly depending on the size of your company, the size of your customer base and your hours of operation. There's flexibility there.   Dan stated he has an easy equation that he has in his book and for those of who don't like math don't worry you're not going to be overwhelmed. The equation is that expectations plus emotions equals a willingness to share. When companies exceed customer expectations we make them happy. And unfortunately, today they're still surprised at that because companies don't exceed expectations very often and when we have a great experience we are more than willing as customers to share that publicly because it is still a unique thing to have a great experience. When companies only meet expectations or barely meet expectations, you created a motion that's really blahhh, nothing and an okay experience, there's no reason to share that. Why would anybody want to tell their friends about an OK experience. But when companies miss expectations we make customers sad or worse angry. And unfortunately, there's a very high willingness to share there as well. So, his advice to companies is to make sure that your positive experiences outweigh your negative experiences and you will have more positive sentiment on Social Media than negative because your fans will be louder, your lovers will be louder than your haters. And that's hard to do because especially as your business gets bigger you are going to make mistakes, you are going to miss customer expectations. But even then, you have such an opportunity in a public space like Social Media to show that you care, to show that you have empathy and to make it right. There's countless occasions where he has seen companies turn negative detractors into positive advocates just because they are responsive and willing to help.   Yanique stated that Dan mentioned one very important word that she thinks is critical to achieving customer experience and building loyalty. And that's empathy. And asked if he could just share with us what are his views on empathy and why is it even necessary in our customer service environment regardless of the industry that you're in?   Dan stated that it goes back to what he was describing before is the ability to step into the customer's shoes. He thinks that very often companies create products and services and even worse processes that they haven't actually as consumers gone through themselves. So, they make a lot of sense to the company but as a consumer you're stuck going through a process that is difficult or time consuming or doesn't make sense. And when you have a complaint, what you want is somebody to listen to you and to believe your complaint and to be willing to help and all of that kind of gets wrapped up into empathy and the best customer service agents are the ones that are able to step into a customer's shoes, understand that they're frustrated and be willing to try to help them. When people ask him what kind of people you look for in Social Customer Care. He always says you want to look for the customer service qualities first among which empathy is one of the top things to look for because you can teach almost anybody how to do Social Media. It's very difficult to teach empathy and it's very difficult to teach someone to be great at customer service, to want to solve customer problems, to be willing to listen, to be willing to remain objective and not get emotional when a customer is upset. These are things that are really tough to teach and they're kind of innate in people. But when you find those people that are good at that you can teach them Twitter and Facebook, that's pretty easy. He believes that empathy is one of those things that customers are looking for when they're frustrated and when they find it, it eases their frustration and again can make them actually turn the negative experience into a positive one.   Yanique reiterated by saying you take the same approach that you would take to employ someone that you are putting face to face in front of your customer with the right attitude. And then you can teach them the technical skills but that same characteristic that you're looking for in that individual that's who you're going to put in front of your Social Media as well.   Dan agreed stated that when you've got people answering in Social Media they are the face of your brand. The other thing he advise for social agents in particular is to make sure that they're good writers which is something that you don't need necessarily in a phone agent but when you see companies responding to customers and there are spelling and grammar errors that's a reflection on the company and so the people that you select for this really important role, they've got to be good writers, they have to be able to show empathy and patience and caring and a willingness to solve problems because all of that is reflective of your brand.   Yanique stated that the book actually covers a lot of the areas that Dan speaks to. She is encouraging listeners that are going to have the opportunity to listen to this podcast. This book was actually written by Dan and Jay Baer wrote the foreword to the book. Jay Baer was a past guest on our podcast couple months back so you can always archive one of those podcast episodes and listen to Jay. But it's important and just wanted to emphasize to our listeners that this is an awesome book. It focuses on a lot of areas and questions that Dan may not be able to fully answer in this podcast, he's only touching on little areas but he goes deeper in the actual book Winning at Social Customer Care. So, she would encourage all of you and have the opportunity to listen to this episode to head on over to Amazon and purchase this book because this could be your winning tool for 2018.   Dan stated that he stays motivated because he thinks that customer experience is still in its infancy. He thinks we've been talking about it now for a couple of years as being important and you see all the surveys that say that CEOs and CMOs know that it's a key thing to focus on. But he still thinks we're not quite at the point where customer experience is going and thinks that it will be the last true differentiator among brands. Think that the industries that compete on price find out very quickly that that's a very tough way to make money. And we know that most products and services can be copied in some way. And so, the real distinction that companies have is the way they treat their customers and that is very difficult to copy because it is made up usually of human interactions. And so, he has talked before about hiring the right people and having the right front line, that's very difficult to copy and that's what motivates him because he looks around and his podcast is all about great experiences that he and his co-host have had with different companies or that their listeners have had with different companies but it is amazing just waking up every day and living your life and interacting with brands. It is amazing how few of those there still are, as often as we've been talking about customer experience and Yanique has this great podcast and other people are talking about it, it is amazing still how many companies don't get it or aren't executing on it. So, to him that just means opportunity and he thinks that a day is coming where all companies are going to have to prioritize it and that will be exciting because as customers, that is going to make our lives a lot easier.   Yanique mentioned that it's interesting that Dan said that because we are all customers regardless of the businesses that we interface with or the lives that we lead but a lot of the challenges that we face in life that contribute to our stress level being high which leads to chronic illnesses. It really boils down to the interactions and the relationships that we have with people and a lot of it boils down to the services experiences that we have, how we treat each other, how we respond to each other. If more organizations could make an effort to understand how important this is to their business it would actually improve the quality of life not just in the business but generally how we relate to each other in the world, it would improve the world overall.   Dan agreed and said that Jay Baer was on a previous podcast and Jay wrote a terrific book called Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers by Jay Baer and one of the key takeaways there that he loves is that people who complain about your company, complain because they care. The ones we need to be worried about are the ones that have already picked up and moved to our competition. But the ones that are complaining actually care about our brand and want us to be better. And again, there's a sort of a human nature to that that if we're just willing to listen and hear out a customer that has a complaint more often than not we're going to realize that that complaints are valid and that that customer might actually be suggesting ways for our experience to be even better. And as long as we're open minded about that we shouldn't be afraid of complaints, in fact we should welcome them because it's feedback and feedbacks a gift whether you are a company or an individual, getting honest feedback is a real gift. It's what we do with it that matters and he totally agrees, if we had fewer bad experiences with companies we'd probably all be happier as a population.   Dan shared a tool that he cannot live without and stated that he’s going to probably choose the obvious one and go with Twitter and the reason is as much as Twitter has struggled as a public company, he thinks that Twitter is still the place to listen to what your customers are saying about both you and your competition and companies that are not paying attention on Twitter to the conversation about your industry, about your company or your competitors are just missing so much rich data that can help you improve your business. He thinks he’s two angles and both of which he talks about in the book. One is identifying the pain points that your customers are having with you and fixing them. It's one thing to respond within 15 minutes and help that individual customer but you need to take it to the next level and actually fix the underlying problem so that you don't have repeat complaints that actually will end up saving you money because your customer service expenses will go down. The other thing though is that there's so much opportunity to grow your business with new products and new innovations that are suggested by your customers. One of his favorite examples is the company Otterbox which makes cases for mobile phones and just from listening on Twitter they figured out that a lot of their customers were bringing their phones into the shower of all places in order to listen to music and this was a use case that they had not considered previously. So, they took this information and the data and they brought it back to their R and D (Research and Development) team and they ended up creating their first ever waterproof case which turned out to be one of their best sellers. And that doesn't happen if they're not listening to the conversation on Twitter so to him that is the absolute must have. If you're not paying attention get onto Twitter, you don't even have to tweet if you don't want to. You just have to create some lists, follow some people and listen to what's going on to what the conversation is about and you will learn a ton.   Yanique mentioned that she is an Otterbox user, she didn't know they had a water proof case, that's awesome. Listening as Dan said is so important and it's not just about going on Twitter and hearing information or looking at what's there but actually using that information, providing it to the people in the business that can actually do something with that information. So, it's good that they listened, they took it back and the team actually did something by creating a product that customers actually wanted because a lot of times in a business your customers are telling you what they want, it's just if you're really listening to what they want or are you just giving them what you think they want.   Dan shared a few of the books that have had a big impact on him and stated he would go with two of them. And one of them is going to bring back his friend Jay Baer, Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers by Jay Baer was a book that he thinks was a real turning point because Jay for most of his career had been a marketing expert. In fact, Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is About Help Not Hype by Jay Baer his earlier book is also one of his favorite books and he shifted over to the customer service realm and Dan looked at Hug Your Haters as and Jay actually sort of wrote this in the foreword to his book is that Hug Your Haters really outlines the why of why it is that we have to engage with customers in Social Media and in all other channels and then his book tried to be a follow on to kind of say here's the how into the social media space specifically but he thinks Hug Your Haters is an absolute must read. He's got great examples from lots of different companies in there. And then another book that he’s a huge fan of is called They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer by Marcus Sheridan who is a wonderful guy. Marcus is the single best speaker he has ever seen in public at a conference and his book really talks to making sure that your company is the source of the best information about your product, service, industry anywhere on the planet. And he tells a wonderful story about his own company which was a swimming pool installation company and how he turned his website into the number one swimming pool website in the world in terms of people asking questions about installing swimming pools into their backyards and his company is just this little company on the East Coast of the U.S. It doesn't even service the world but it has become the go to resource and that book is really important because it shows the overlap between marketing and customer service and he thinks that there is a huge overlap there. He talks a lot about the sales process and how having all of this information will draw in prospects but it also can be used for servicing perspective because the more we can get our customers to self-serve with great content the less they have to call us and frankly create expense in a call center. And so, he thinks that book is a terrific one as well that he would highly recommend.   Yanique mentioned that she liked the fact that he linked marketing and customer experience because she thinks there is a lot of organizations that have these departments and the departments aren’t even speaking to each other so they’re collecting, doing their own thing but they are operating in silos and she’s not sure if marketing has recognized that what they’re doing connects directly to what the customer is experiencing and of course whatever it is that the customer is experiencing needs to filter back into what marketing is doing on their end to ensure that they’re actually meeting the customers’ needs, that’s powerful and that’s like a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) that a lot of organizations that light bulb has not gone off in their business as yet for them to recognize that those departments really should be working in tandem with each other.   Dan agreed and stated that how many of us has gone on to a website and have been greeted with an obnoxious pop up ad from the marketing department, the problem is those ads tends to work which is why companies do it but they work at the expense of annoying the 90% of customers that don’t click on it and that’s frustrating and marketers have to be way more aware of the overall customer experience and their contribution to the customer experience than they are today and he believes that silo busting is going to continue to be a theme in 2018 with companies, the ones that are figuring out to get silos integrated with each other instead of separate are going make great strides towards improving the entire customer journey.   Dan stated that right now he is thinking about what’s next for him and his career and looking at whether he wants to continue speaking and writing and kind of making a go at it independently or whether he wants to continue working at big companies. He sort of had this rare combination over the last few years because most of the folks that are speaking in podcasting and writing books are doing it independently or they run their own consultancies versus working for big brands. He has been trying to do both for a while and he’s really trying to think inward now and figure out what makes him happiest and what he wants to do next, that’s probably what’s on his mind right now and as we turn into 2018 and he’s excited for whatever lies in the future.   Dan shared listeners can find him at – Twitter – @dgingiss LinkedIn - @dangingiss     www.winningatsocial.com     Dan shared that a quote he leans one that he talks about in the book. When he was introduced it was mentioned that he is an avid Cubs fan and the manager of the Chicago Cubs name’s Joe Madden and Joe has all of these great sayings and great quotes that are meant to be about baseball but Dan actually thinks that when Joe retires from baseball, he’s going to become a business consultant because almost everything he teaches his players is very applicable to business. His favorite one of his is, “Do simple better.” He loves that because it in itself is very simple, it’s three words. When he’s talking about baseball, he’s talking about making sure that you always run out a play or the simple ground battle or the short stop that those are not the ones you make errors on. But in real life and business it’s such a good mantra to live by because so many companies make things overly complicated for customers and if you can figure out how to do simple better, generally you’re going to get to a much better outcome for both the customer and the business. When he struggles at work with some sort of complexity or the legal department wants this or government regulation wants this or the PR department is asking for something, again, it’s about putting that customer hat on and saying, “What’s the simplest route for our customer? How do we make it as simple as possible and do simple better?” There are some great examples in the book and elsewhere about this. One quick one that he gives which is one of his favorites and talks about in the book about this company that does conference calls servicing and we’ve all been on conference calls where we’re waiting on hold and we listen to this awful music and this one particular company hired a guy who actually now works for Facebook to record a song with his guitar called “I’m on hold” and he would encourage listeners to go to YouTube and look it up by Alex Cornell, this song is absolutely amazing and as you’re listening this song, it’s just this nice guy strumming a guitar, and you find yourself realizing you don’t want the person on the other line to actually join the call because you want to listen to the music instead and that is doing simple better, that’s taking a very simple experience of waiting on hold and making it memorable and remarkable instead of either annoying or unremarkable. He thinks that when companies can find opportunities to do that at every step of the journey, you really make things much better for your customers and you can really change the whole perception of dealing with you as a company.   Yanique agreed and stated that even though it’s just three basic words, it’s not so much the words but it’s the meaning and the purpose that’s in the depth of those words that you really should extrapolate and try to inject into the DNA of your employees so that they can really function from that mindset because you’re right, sometimes things are very simple and we find the most complicated and complex routes to frustrate the poor customers who kind of want to get in and out in the shortest possible time whether it be online, face to face, over the phone, “It’s just a simple question I want answered” and somehow it’s just a very discombobulate way that the organization has put in place for this. If we could really start with that in mind, do simple better, it will definitely improve the quality of all of our lives.    Links   Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Engaging Experiences on Social Media by Dan Gingiss Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers by Jay Baer Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is About Help Not Hype by Jay Baer They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer by Marcus Sheridan Otterbox  

Robert B. Cairns discusses Kik and Other Alternate Messaging Apps and some of the dangers you may need to be aware of when it comes to your children. Alternate messaging apps can be a great communication tool, but there are some serious issues plaguing the ones that are geared towards kids and teenagers. Here is one story that we discuss in this segment: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/kik... Rob Cairns has over 25 years experience in the technology field as a programmer, network support analyst, and as an Internet security consultant. He has worked with the Toronto Police on many cyberbullying and Internet security issues. In 2013, he won a Power Award for social media. The awards are given to top performers in the electricity-generating industry. Website: http://robertbcairns.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/robcairns Personal Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RobCairns Business Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RobertBCairns Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robcairns67 Google +: https://plus.google.com/1146157651993... Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/rbcairns

Guest: Damitra Sorden-Viera Topic of Discussion: Beating Breast Cancer while Building A Business “I strut with passion, optimism and confidence.  I am definitely a Soleful Diva!” says Damitra “Metta” Sorden- Viera, shoe designer and owner of Soles 4 Divas, a mobile shoe boutique based in Baltimore, MD.  Damitra’s passion for fashion was cultivated at the age of seven by watching her mother, a former model, pose and strut in stylish clothing and accessories. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Damitra began modeling locally and learned about the business of fashion, which slowly sparked her entrepreneurial dreams. This Diva’s true passion for style demanded her entrepreneurial attention as well and in February 2011, she began Soles 4 Divas, her booming shoe boutique which boasts the motto "Accessorizing your Walk, While Dazzling Your Destiny". She streamlined her philanthropic heart and fashion-savvy mind by enclosing a motivational quote in everypair of shoes that is purchased.  Her ultimate goal is to speak, touch, help and inspire every woman in one way or another. Damitra’s business and personal accomplishments have made her a woman on the move.  She has been recognized for her continuous effort to inspire and innovate.  She received the Woman of Power Award, Joe Mann’s Award, Distinguished Woman Award, has been featured in Essence Magazine, 2 time exclusive shoe designer for runway fashion show New York City Mercedes Benz Fashion Week alongside international designer, Cesar Gallindo. She has contributed powerful messages and dazzling shoes to woman-empowerment events.  With all of these accomplishments, her biggest testimony comes from being a breast cancer survivor and breast cancer advocate and speaker for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Foundation, and now Soles 4 The Cure.

My guest this week is Connie Tomaino. Dr. Concetta Tomaino is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and Senior Vice President for Music Therapy at CenterLight Health System ( formerly Beth Abraham Family of Health Services), where she has worked since 1980.   She graduated from SUNY at Stony Brook with a BA in Music Performance in 1976 (her instrument is the trumpet), a minor in psychology and sciences, and a commitment to the emerging field of music therapy. She received the Masters and Doctor of Arts in Music Therapy from New York University Dr. Tomaino is internationally known for her research in the clinical applications of music and neurologic rehabilitation.  She has lectured on music therapy throughout the United States and in, Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Italy, England, and Canada. She is past president of the American Association for Music Therapy and received the Award of Accomplishment from Music Therapists for Peace at the United Nations.  In 1999 she received a Touchstone Award from “Women in Music” for her visionary spirit. In 2004 she received the Music has Power Award from the IMNF and the Zella Bronfman Butler Award which is given by the UJA-Federation of New York in partnership with the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation to professionals in the UJA-Federation agency network for their outstanding work on behalf of individuals with physical, developmental, or learning disabilities.  She was honored with the 2010 Professional Practice Award from the American Association for Music Therapy and also as one of “Three Wise Women” by the National Organization of Italian American Women.  In 2011 she received in inaugural Burton Grebin Innovator of the Year Award from the NY Continuing Care Leadership Coalition (CCLC )    

My guest this week is Connie Tomaino. Dr. Concetta Tomaino is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and Senior Vice President for Music Therapy at CenterLight Health System ( formerly Beth Abraham Family of Health Services), where she has worked since 1980.   She graduated from SUNY at Stony Brook with a BA in Music Performance in 1976 (her instrument is the trumpet), a minor in psychology and sciences, and a commitment to the emerging field of music therapy. She received the Masters and Doctor of Arts in Music Therapy from New York University Dr. Tomaino is internationally known for her research in the clinical applications of music and neurologic rehabilitation.  She has lectured on music therapy throughout the United States and in, Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Italy, England, and Canada. She is past president of the American Association for Music Therapy and received the Award of Accomplishment from Music Therapists for Peace at the United Nations.  In 1999 she received a Touchstone Award from “Women in Music” for her visionary spirit. In 2004 she received the Music has Power Award from the IMNF and the Zella Bronfman Butler Award which is given by the UJA-Federation of New York in partnership with the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation to professionals in the UJA-Federation agency network for their outstanding work on behalf of individuals with physical, developmental, or learning disabilities.  She was honored with the 2010 Professional Practice Award from the American Association for Music Therapy and also as one of “Three Wise Women” by the National Organization of Italian American Women.  In 2011 she received in inaugural Burton Grebin Innovator of the Year Award from the NY Continuing Care Leadership Coalition (CCLC )    

The TB&D Radio Network Presents: Spotlight on Domestic Violence Over the past two years, I've done several specials on Domestic Violence because it's an issue that's been plaguing America for far too long and doesn't receive the type of media coverage that it deserves. Please join me on The Dedan Tolbert Show on Thursday October 29th at 9pm as we continue this much needed series with two domestic abuse survivors. My first guest will be Lori Finnila, author of several books including “My Brain Injury”. Lori endured years of domestic abuse and her story will touch the nation. My second guest will be Dr. Joseph Howard, author of “Battered Clergy; from Victim to Victor” in 2006 which won a Power Award for new inspirational piece. Dr. Howard also endured years of domestic abuse while serving in the church. His story will both surprise you and touch your heart. Battered Clergy is a story of a soft spoken, middle-aged minister, Pastor Gee, with a powerful and anointed gift to preach the gospel. Despite his abusive childhood, he has overcome great odds and now leads a church who has just suffered the loss of their pastor and first l ady. The plot thickens with the introduction of Pastor Gee's wife, First Lady Cynthia Hayes. Her controlling and conniving ways lead her to an affair with a church member and she will stop at nothing to have her way; even if it means removing her devoted husband out of the picture by any means necessary. If you or someone you know has ever been in an abusive relationship and you would like to tell your story, please contact me at askdedan@gmail.com. Listen to my Spotlight on Domestic Violence by logging onto DedansPlace.net or calling 646-200-0366 For advertising and sponsorship information, visit DedanTolbert.com or send an email to askdedan@gmail.com